December 10, 2009

India's FieldFresh Foods to double corn exports to UK, Europe

India's FieldFresh Foods Ltd. plans to export about 1,000 tonnes of corn and baby corn to the UK and other European countries during the current fiscal year, and to double that figure next year, a senior company executive said Wednesday (December 9).

"This year (to March 31, 2010) we will do 700-plus tonnes of baby corn and another 200-plus tonnes of sweet corn, which is the second crop we have developed in Maharashtra," said Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises.

FieldFresh Foods, a joint venture between India's Bharti Enterprises Ltd., and the Singapore-listed Del Monte Pacific Ltd. sells fruits and vegetables under the FieldFresh brand across Indian and international markets.

Bharti Enterprises is also the parent company of Bharti Airtel Ltd., the country's largest mobile phone company by number of users.

The company buys corn from about 1000 Indian farmers who produce the crop in more than 4000 acres of farmland in the northern province of Punjab and western province of Maharashtra.

It plans to double corn exports during the fiscal year starting April 1, 2010, Mittal said.