Patanjali to develop largest govt subsidy backed orange cluster in Nagpur

Nagpur: Patanjali Group will be developing an orange processing cluster at its unit in the non-SEZ part of Mihan project in Nagpur. The project is being dubbed as the largest govt subsidy-backed orange processing cluster.Patanjali Food and Herbal Park Private Limited will be pumping in a fresh investment of Rs650 crore for the cluster. The company will be investing in fresh equipment for processing fruits for further value addition. A part of the investment will be reimbursed in the form of subsidy. The subsidy will be granted by the National Horticulture Board (NHB), a body under the Union ministry of agriculture. A loan of around Rs125 crore has also been cleared by Indian Overseas Bank for the project.The firm plans to cover as much as 21,000 hectares of land in Nagpur, Wardha and Amravati district for purchase of oranges as well as other fruits. This comes to nearly 20% of the total area under orange cultivation in the region. Apart from fruit juice, the company is eyeing a major business in pharmaceutical, food essence, fragrance and cosmetics sectors. The plan is to supply orange peel and seed extracts to these industries, from which the company is eyeing a business of around Rs5,000 crore. Certain orange parts are also used in the pharma industry, said a company official. With major dependence on imports, the company sees a huge untapped market in this segment.Patanjali is expected to be the biggest among the 100 units shortlisted under the NHB's multi-commodity high-value cluster scheme. Under this, Patanjali will act as an implementing agency. The company will ink agreements with the farmers from Nagpur, Wardha and Amravati for purchase of oranges as well as a whole gamut of other fruits. The growers can link with the company through farmers' organisations, cooperatives, or in individual capacity. There will be no binding on the farmers to sell their produce only to Patanjali, said a company official. The farmers will also be getting subsidies for purchasing assets to improve output, an NHB source said.A team from the NHB visited the Patanjali site on Tuesday. Now at the detailed project report stage, it may take around two years for the project to finally begin, said sources. The team was headed by NHB deputy director Pawan Kumar.
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