September 18, 2007
 

India's Suguna to set up poultry vaccine plant

Globion India Private Limited, the newly-incorporated subsidiary of Suguna Poultry Group, is setting up a Rs 42 crore (US$10.3 million) poultry vaccine plant in Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The facility would be built on 10 acres of land allotted to the company by the state and commercial production is expected to start in 18 to 24 months, DK Dey, general manager (biotechnology), Globion India, said.

The facility would have a production capacity of 5 billion doses per year and produce multiple vaccines for various poultry diseases such as marex, infectious bronchitis (IB) and infectious bursal disease (IBD).

The company intends to spend Rs 6-8 crore (US$1.5 million to US$2.0 million) on the R&D of these products.

While these diseases were not present or insignificant a few decades ago, they have gained prominence recent years, Dey said.

At the same time, vaccine import is uncertain as it has to be based upon bird flu situation elsewhere. Suguna thus felt it was essential to start vaccine manufacturing to cater to the needs of the poultry farmers across the country, Dey continued.

Suguna is the largest importer of poultry vaccines in India, shipping in close to Rs 20 crore (US$4.9 million) worth of vaccines annually.

The company said Andhra Pradesh was a natural choice for the company due to the state's central role in the Indian poultry industry

Suguna places 4 million chicks per month in the state and produces 20,000 tonnes of chicken every year. A quarter of the company¡¯s revenues comes from Andhra.