Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is acquiring Vishwatej Oil Industries’ palm operation in Telangana’s Kamareddy district as part of its palm manufacturing strategy.
Construction of plantations, fresh palm fruit collection centers and a state-of-the-art palm oil mill are in the company’s plans, HUL said after its board approved the acquisition on Wednesday. “HUL will establish a comprehensive farmer outreach program to provide technical assistance to farmers to grow palm oil and introduce high-quality farming practices in line with the company’s principles of sustainable and regenerative agriculture globally,” a subsidiary of the Global FMGG giant. Unilever said.
This announcement comes after a meeting of the team led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at the World Economic Forum and Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher on the sidelines of the event in Davos. The Chief Minister’s office had said that Unilever would set up a palm oil refinery in Telangana. Additionally, he said the Unilever team agreed to establish a bottling unit in the State.
In its stock market filing, on Board approval, HUL said its palm strategy aims to build supply chain resilience in palm oil through backward integration. Palm and its derivatives are a key stock for manufacturing the company’s personal care, beauty and home care products. They are most popular in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The company said that with its acquisition it has taken a step forward in building palm infrastructure under India’s National Mission on Edible Oils. “This acquisition is in line with our strong belief that ‘what’s good for India is good for HUL’ and gives us an opportunity to contribute to India’s national drive to increase domestic oilseed production and reduce import dependency,” said CEO and Managing Director Rohit Jawa.
Published – January 22, 2025 08:13 pm IST