ITC Ltd. on Friday inaugurated an export-oriented spices facility in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The mega facility will have processing lines for turmeric, chilli, and blended spices, with an annual capacity of 20,400 metric tonne of spices, the company that sells packaged foods and operates hotels in India said.
The processing plant is equipped to produce over 15 organic spices and will boost ITC’s food exports. The company’s target global markets for export of spices include Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and China.
The plant was inaugurated by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
The facility will cater to all processing needs, including storage, cleaning, processing, sterilization, packing, quality testing, leading to an end-to-end custody of quality assurance, ITC said its statement.
“The unit will also anchor a sustainable spices value chain that will extend support to farmers through a robust crop development programme ensuring traceability. The unit will support significant livelihoods across the value chain. The facility will be powered by high-tech energy efficient equipment and will have rooftop solar panels to ensure clean energy consumption. A majority of workforce at the unit will include women,” the company said.
To be sure, ITC has a domestic spices business. It also has an agriculture business that operates across categories such as spices, coffee, frozen marine products and processed fruits.
“We have invested in setting up a world-class export-oriented spices facility in Andhra Pradesh that will offer the finest quality of spices to the world conforming to global food safety export norms, whilst anchoring local agri-value chains. We are indeed delighted that the unit will also be a flag-bearer of sustainability and inclusion owing to its 360 degree initiatives that will support enhanced farmer incomes, foster women empowerment, support large-scale livelihoods as well as promote extensive use of renewable energy,” said Sanjiv Puri, chairman, ITC Ltd.