Adani Wilmar to invest Rs. 150 crore in rice biz.

Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd. plans to invest Rs. 150 crore over the next 12-18 months in its rice business, a new vertical it expects to grow over the next few years.

The company forayed into rice last year and ran a pilot with its Pilaf brand of basmati rice. It has just launched the commodity in its flagship Fortune brand in Maharashtra, the State that consumes nearly a quarter of the 12 lakh tonnes of the basmati rice sold in the country every year. A phased rollout across the country will follow.

'We plan to spend Rs. 150 crore over the next 12-18 months to acquire two or three brown field rice mills and upgrade them,' Angshu Mallick, Chief Operating Officer, Adani Wilmar said.

The target is to increase existing paddy processing capacity from 520 to 800 tonnes per day, he added.

Adani Wilmar expects to sell around one lakh tonne of basmati rice till March 2016.

HBL