The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Milling cluster coming up in Madurai

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Milling cluster coming up in Madurai

J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar

The project will provide modern infrastructure to foodgrains industry It will provide modern infrastructure to foodgrains industry

MADURAI: : The nation's first cereals, pulses and staples (CPS) milling cluster is coming up on 30 acres at Milakaranai near Koodal Nagar here, with modern facilities for storage and a grading centre.

The project will help to make the district a processing hub for foodgrains and related industries in India.

Located three km away from the Railway Goods Shed and Inland Container Depot, the cluster will be the only such facility in the country that provides modern infrastructure for the foodgrains industry.

Speaking to The Hindu , the Chairman cum Managing Director, S. Rethinavelu, said the Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Marketing Yard was the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Madurai CPS Milling Cluster. Besides the SPV, the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry was supporting the venture. With 1,700 members, the SPV bought and developed the land at a cost of Rs.2.5 crores.

The cluster was aimed at catering to the needs of the 80-year-old industry that lacked storage facility, scientific testing facility, a laboratory to improve quality, or guidance for exports. It was being established under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, New Delhi, on an outlay of Rs.40 crores.

About Rs.28.8 crores was earmarked for establishing buildings, Rs.3.98 crores for roads, drainage and water storage and Rs.7.18 crores for machinery and equipment. The project would be completed in 18 months.

Even small entrepreneurs could utilise the facilities of the cluster, which would boast of scientific storage capabilities containing 300 depots to store 30,000 tonnes for individual firms and a common shed with a 20,000-tonne storage capacity. Besides, it would help to eliminate impurities while grading. The cluster would cover paddy, rice, pulses, dhal, cereals, flour and other value-added products, oil seeds, edible oils and sugarcane.

The IIUS facilitates the provision of marketing-cum-finished goods storage depots, cold storage, grading centre, pre-processing centre, packaging centre, auction centre, Research and Development laboratory, product display and agribusiness ICT centre and a training\seminar hall.

There are 800 industrial milling and oil extraction units in the district with a total processing capacity of 16 lakh tonnes and a turnover of Rs.1500 crores.

At present, they utilise only 60 per cent of the production capacity. The total investment amounts to Rs.600 crores, and the units provide direct employment to 6,000 persons and indirect employment to 34,000.

The cluster will generate more employment opportunities persons and enhance the processing capacity to 95 per cent.

The SPV proposes to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for backward integration with farmers. Another MoU will be signed with the NIT, Tiruchi, and the CFTRI, Mysore, for technology transfer.

Backward integration includes entering into a tie-up with farmers, disseminating information on farming and agronomy practices and encouraging them to use bio-manure for raising crops with an offer to buy back produce.

There is a likelihood of branding and evolving a logo for products and fixing prices.

The promoters believe that the cluster will help the milling industry face the challenges of the WTO regime.

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