Edible oil import duty hike: Ruchi Soya to restart 3 seed crushing units

Plants were shut years ago after being rendered unviable

Encouraged by the government’s import duty hike, Ruchi Soya Industries has announced reopening of seed crushing at three plants - Washim, Baran and Kota. These plants were closed years ago due to unviability but, the company feels that seed crushing would be viable now.

The progress of the monsoon this year bodes well for the kharif output. With the boost up provided by the increase in import duties on edible oil announced by the government, Ruchi Soya is gearing up to reap the benefit. 

“We will re-commence operations at three of our plants which were lying idle. The last few years had seen Ruchi Soya and the edible oil industry facing challenges due to the vagaries of weather. Improved supply from farmers would enable higher utilization of our crushing and refining capacities,” said Satendra Aggarwal, Chief Operating Officer, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd.

With 3.72 million tonnes capacity across 10 locations, Ruchi Soya has the largest oil seed extraction (crushing) capacity in India. In the past two years, only 13 – 15 per cent of the crushing capacity was being utilised. With the start of operations, the capacity utilisation is expected to double in the current year.

"In addition to the good monsoon, restarting operations at these three key plants would benefit farmers holding soybean carryover stocks and give them an opportunity to monetize their stocks. Our capacities which were dormant due to shortage of raw material can now be utilized to optimal levels," said Dinesh Shahra, Founder & Managing Director, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd.