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Vishwanath Kulkarni

BANGALORE, May 8

THE Chandigarh-based Himalayan Vegefruit Ltd, which recently acquired the Doddaballapur-based Sun Crush Fruits Pvt Ltd, is shedding 26 per cent of its stake in favour of the Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation Ltd (Kappec).

Himalayan Vegefruit has roped in the Karnataka-Government agency to restart the sick unit through infusion of fresh funds and technology. Sun Crush Fruits was mainly processing tropical fruits such as mangoes.

Mr B.A. Channappa Gowda, Managing Director, Kappec, said the State-owned entity was picking up 26 per cent equity for Rs 65 lakh in the joint venture that is being named as Himkap. The joint venture firm had already been registered and was expected to commence operations by the end of this month, he said adding that it would process both fruits and vegetables grown in the region.

``The Government has given the go-ahead approval for the project and we should soon be receiving the shareholders approval for the infusion of funds'' he said.

To begin with we would be processing the Totapuri variety mangoes and would look at processing other fruits such as guava, banana, papaya, Mr Gowda said.

``Initially, we are looking at marketing the processed fruits and vegetables to the MNCs as Hindustan Lever Ltd and Nestle,'' Mr Gowda said adding that plans are also afoot to market the produce under the brandname Himkap. ``We are also looking at setting up a concentration facility,'' he said.

This facility is not only expected to benefit the farmers in the Doddaballapur region, which is known for horticultural crops, but would also provide a boost to the agri and horticultural exports from the state, Mr Gowda said.

Further, we would be looking at creating additional storage facilities for perishables as this facility was close to the proposed international airport near Bangalore, he said.

For the Rs 25-crore Himalayan Vegefruit Ltd, this would be the third joint venture of its kind with state government agencies. It has a joint venture with the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation at Chandigarh and another with the Himachal Pradesh Agro Industries Corporation.

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