Mahindra agri forays into edible oil segment

The agro vertical of automotive maker Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday said it has forayed into the edible oil segment, investing Rs.8-10 crore in this space.

"We have come up with edible mustard oil which is available in West Bengal and will gradually be made available in other eastern markets. For the edible oil segment, we so far have invested Rs.8-10 crore," Ashok Sharma, president and chief executive of Mahindra & Mahindra's agro, Africa and South Asia operations, said here.

He said the company has planned to introduce other edible oil varieties next year onwards.

"Rice bran, Soya and other varieties are under consideration which will be introduced next year onwards. For the time being, we'll focus on growing the mustard oil segment," he said.

Asked about the company's plans of future investment in the edible oils space, he said: "It will depend on how our mustard oil performs in the market."

He said that since West Bengal comprises 55 percent of the total mustard oil market, the company will focus on this state to grow this line of business.

"Other regions have demand for other oil variants which will be addressed later," the official said.

According to Sharma, the total demand for edible oils in India stands at 18 million tonnes (MT) and the country imports 12 MT of edible oil.

It is procuring mustard seeds from Rajasthan and extracting the oil in that state.

At 3:10 p.m., the company's shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange were trading at Rs.1,292.95 -- up 1.32 percent.