Cargill Opens Punjab Dairy-Feed Plant
Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health has opened a new dairy-feed plant in Wazirabad, in India’s Punjab state. The facility represents an investment of Rs 300 crore and has an annual manufacturing capacity of 400,000 metric tonnes.
Cargill describes the site as its largest dairy-feed facility in South Asia. It is the company’s second plant in Punjab, after the facility in Bathinda, and occupies 15 acres in a region with a high concentration of dairy production.
The plant will make feed for young animals and milking cows. Production will use automated systems and other advanced manufacturing technologies, with products sold under Cargill’s Provimi and Purina brands. The intended customers include dairy farmers, dairy producers and feed mills.
The company said the Wazirabad location would bring manufacturing closer to farming communities and improve the availability and reliability of feed supplies. Its products are to comply with standards issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards, with an emphasis on low-toxin feed and science-based nutrition.
Ravinder Balain, president of Cargill India and senior managing director of Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health, said that expanding production near Punjab’s main dairy regions would support more dependable supplies and farm profitability. Cargill said the facility was designed in line with its global requirements for workplace safety, biosecurity and product quality.
Sanjeev Arora, Punjab’s minister of industries and commerce, inaugurated the plant with Cargill executives. He said investment by global companies could strengthen the state’s industrial ecosystem, create jobs and support rural livelihoods. Arora also said the Punjab government would support investors and wanted the state to become a preferred destination for agricultural and food-sector investment.
Cargill expects the plant to generate more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs. The company said the Wazirabad and Bathinda operations would contribute to local manufacturing, skills development and economic activity. India is the world’s largest milk producer, accounting for more than a quarter of global output, while dairy is the country’s largest agricultural product and provides livelihoods for millions of farmers.
