Usher Agro inks JV to set up rice, pulses processing plant

Usher Agro today announced a joint venture to set up a processing facility for rice and pulses at Port of Sohar, Oman with an estimated cost of USD 40 million.
"On October 21, Usher Agro through its subsidiary Usher Worldwide FZE and Prime Trading Company signed a joint venture agreement with Al Mada Project Management Company and Sohar Food Cluster Company LLC for setting up rice and pulses storage, processing and packaging facility at Port of Sohar," the company said in a regulatory filing.
"The initial facility will be set up at a total estimated project cost of USD 40 million," it added.

The JV partners expect to commence the operations of the facility by end of FY 2016.
The facility would contain polishing, grading, blending and packaging unit for 1,00,000 tonnes per annum of premium long grain rice including basmati rice and a state-of-the-art milling unit for 1,00,000 tonnes per annum of pulses.
The facility would also have 25,000 tonnes per annum of rice fortification plant under the patented technology provided by PATH -- a non-profit organisation supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the filing said.

Fortified rice prevents loss of iron and vitamins from rice during the milling process and is envisaged to be sold as a premium product and also supplied to the government for welfare activities in the wider MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

The basmati rice products of the facility will be distributed within MENA countries whereas pulses will be distributed in India and MENA countries, the company said.
Usher Agro is agro processing company that deals in rice, wheat and pulses. It has three rice and wheat milling and processing units -- two in Mathura (UP) and one in Buxar (Bihar) totaling to a production capacity of over 13 lakh tonnes per annum.