Keventer plans banana processing unit in Bihar

The plant will initially produce close to 150 tonnes of bananas per day.

The idea is to get into backward integration and plan its own supply chain.

The company is tying-up with biotechnology-providers for value-added hybrid products.

According to official sources, the company already has expertise in food processing and is also planning to help farmers in their back-end operations.

"Banana is a 12-month crop and Keventer has expertise in food processing with apples and water melons. Certain parts of north Bihar produce banana in a big way but there is hardly any facility of its processing and export," the source added.

The company has tied-up with biotechnology companies who will help develop hybrid variety of seeds for value-added products. Keventer will buy these seeds from them and sell to the farmers. The farmers would grow the seeds on their farms and sell the fruits and vegetables to Keventer which the company will sell in the market, thereby managing its own supply chain from the initial to the final stage.

Keventer has tied up with Synergy Biotechnologies for tissue cultured plant and seed varieties.

Synergy Biotechnologies will enable development of better variety seeds which Keventer will buy and sell to the farmers. Farmers thereafter will grow the plants and sell the fruits to Keventer which the latter will sell through organised and unorganised retail in West Bengal.

Keventer has also tied-up with Nunhems, the company which produces seeds for professional growers. Nunhems will grow hybrid variety of water melon seeds for Keventer.

In another significant development, Keventer is planning to increase its stake in Andrew Yule-promoted lubricant outfit Tide Water Oil.

Currently Keventer holds close to 10 per cent stake in Tide Water Oil.

Andrew Yule is planning to divest its stake in Tide Water as a part of the restructuring process. The company was originally floated as a joint venture with Caltex (now Chevron) 60 years back. Chevron still holds 22 per cent stake in Tide Water through a subsidiary called Four Star Oil.

According to sources, "Keventer has appointed Ernst & Young, KPMG, and others to assist it in the bidding process and in developments after that. The intention is to have a controlling stake in Tide Water Oil.

However, there are other biggies like Reliance Industries, French oil giant Total, US oil giant Chevron, and Hinduja group bidding for Tide Water Oil. But if the deal comes through, Keventer will be able to diversify its business portfolio further and get into marketing and distribution of lubricants. A final call will be taken sometime in October."

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