Wave Group, Agristo to invest Rs 750 Cr In UP

New Delhi: Wave Group and Belgium’s Agristo NV will invest around Rs750 crore to expand their potato processing plant in Uttar Pradesh to make premium french fries, amid rising global demand for processed food.

In 2019, Wave Group firm Masa Global Food Pvt Ltd and Agristo’s subsidiary firm IMSTO NV, Belgium had formed a 50:50 joint venture firm to establish a potato processing plant at Bijnor to make dehydrated potato flakes. The name of the joint venture firm is Agristo Masa Pvt Ltd. The plant started operations in 2022 with an annual capacity of 7,500 tonnes.

In an interview with media, Wave Group Chairman Manpreet Singh Chadha noted that there is an immense growth potential in Indian food processing sector. He also stressed on the need to boost crop yields and processing capacity for augmenting farmers income. “We are setting up a new production line for export quality french fries at Bijnor,” Chadha told media.

He said the total investment on this expansion will be around Rs750 crore, which will be financed through equity and debt. The joint venture had invested around Rs300 crore on setting up the existing plant, taking the total investment commitment to more than Rs1,000 crore.