ITC to expand its spices business

30 Dec 2008
ITC is looking to expand its spices business in a big way. The company is planning to set up modernised processing infrastructure in Rajasthan for grading, sorting and cleaning of seed spices like cumin, coriander and pepper, reports ET. The new facility will be in addition to ITC’s spices cleaning, grinding, packing and steam sterilisation facility at Guntur. The facility will give thrust to ITC’s planned foray into the growing value-added exports market for spices. It will also enable ITC to position itself as an integrated spices player. Additionally, ITC is also planning investments to mechanise its various operations in its supply chain, especially for grading and sorting of chillies, turmeric and pepper, the report adds. It is also looking to set up a pepper garbling and steam-washing facility in Kerala as well as a 'blended spices' facility in the next two years. The total outlay on these facilities is expected to be around Rs 40-50 million. The location for the blended spices facility is yet to be finalised. ITC's spices business works with farmers, NGOs and self help groups for developing farm-to-factory spices supply chain. With the current portfolio of chilli, turmeric, coriander, pepper, cumin, nutmeg, mustard, fennel, and fenugreek, the business is setting up a state-of-the-art spices grinding and sterilisation facility to support growth in the domestic and export markets.