Karnataka To Turn ‘Corn Bhoomi’ As Maize Farmers Get $40 Million Investment Boost From Cargill 

Good news comes for maize cultivators in Karnataka as Cargill India proposes to expand its corn processing facility in Karnataka by adding more product lines within a year, reports Business Line.

The company is reported to start manufacturing modified starches for industrial use, mostly textiles at its corn milling plant in Davangere, said Siraj Choudhary, Chairman of Cargill India. For this, the company plans to make an additional investment of $40 million.

Cargill, in its corn milling facility set up in 2016 with an investment of $100 million, manufactures liquid glucose, maltodextrin and starches. These corn derivatives are used in confectioneries, bakery products, baby food and animal nutrition products among others.

The proposed expansion is projected to increase the capacity of the facility to 1,200 tonnes, which has a production capacity of 800 tonnes per day at present. It also plans to double the sourcing of corn from 2,00,000 to 4,00,000 tonnes after the expansion. The company sourced 80 per cent of its requirement from Karnataka and the rest from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. It is also looking to boost the export of its corn products by 40 per cent. About 24 per cent of the corn derivatives is exported to countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Cargill India also proposes to purchase a 26 per cent stake in renewable energy firms for buying about 10 MW power to meet the energy demand of its corn processing plant, and this is also reported to be finalised by next year.