Adani Wilmar to double palm oil imports by 2012

MUMBAI, March 25 (Reuters) - Adani Wilmar Ltd, India's leading branded edible oils firm, is planning to double imports of palm oil products to about 100,000 tonnes a month by 2012, its managing director said on Wednesday.

The imports would mostly go into the company's newly launched brands including Raag Gold, targetted at rural segment, Pranav Adani, told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference to launch new edible oil brands.

"We are targetting the price conscious rural masses with branded refined palmolein. This will require us to import more palm oil," Adani said.

The firm, a joint venture between Gujarat-based Adani Group and Wilmar International Ltd, currently imports less than 50,000 tonnes of crude palm oil a month.

It also imports crude soyoil and sunflower oil and crushes locally produced oilseeds like rapeseed and soybean, Adani said.

The rise in imports is in-line with the company's plans to double its overall capacity to about 2.5 million tonnes a year at an estimated investment of 6.5 billion rupees.

"By this year end we plan to raise imports of palm products to about 60,000-65,000 tonnes," Adani said.

The company has oilseed crushing units in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Procuring soybean for its crushing units was difficult this year as prices remained high and many farmers continued to hold on to the produce for a longer span hoping for a better price, Adani said.

The higher oilseed prices and a fall in refined edible oil prices have put some pressure on the margins of the edible oil firms, Adani said.