IFCO to invest Rs 600 m for food processing plant

Shirajiv Sirimane in the Maldives

The International Foodstuff Group of Companies, would invest Rs. 600 million to build a food processing and freezing factory in Homagama and seven agricultural projects to cultivate 2,000 acres.

Chairman, IFCO, Sarath de Silva, said that the food processing plant was already being constructed and would be ready by next April. The main aim of this project was to purchase vegetables from local farmers and Divi Naguma growers and process them, since there where many vegetables, especially in Dambulla and Matale, that were been sold at low prices. Through this project, our aim was to buy them at a higher price and process them.”

He said that 50 % of the funding would be raised from borrowings from the Bank of Ceylon and the National Development Bank and the balance would be profits generated from the company,” He also said that Tomato pulp was imported and the proposed factory would be able to supply them to local processing companies, saving foreign exchange to the country. He said that with peace, the tourism industry was booming, while the local demand for quality fruits and vegetables had also increased. “Hence marketing these vegetables would not be an issue.”

Immediate past Chairman of the National Agri Business Council and the National Chamber of Exporters, said that the Maldives was a strong market for Sri Lankan fruits and vegetables, accounting to nearly 30 % of the Maldivian market. In addition, the Gulf too was a strong market for Sri Lanka. De Silva who was well respected for his contribution to the agriculture sector of Sri Lanka and introducing hybrid fruit and vegetable varieties, also disclosed plans to open seven regional farms to grow vegetables in seven areas. Some of the main crops that would be grown, would be red chillies, so that it would help to reduce the dry chilies' import bill of over Rs. 400 million.

He also said that the recent political victories by the government, have also given them more confidence to invest in rural areas, especially in agriculture. The focus of the government too have a home grown economy for the agriculture sector, which was now paying dividends, as more companies as well as farmers were getting to the industry. Divi Naguma also pays a key role in this regard and all these efforts would help Sri Lanka to reduce the annual food import bill of US $ 11 billion.

He said that for the first time in Sri Lanka, he would open a Research Farm unit with the assistance of the agriculture universities as a public private partnership which would help the agriculture sector. “This was a gray area for the local agricultural industry,” he added.