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K’taka govt inks 10 MoUs with investors to set up wineries
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Thursday, 01 March, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bangalore
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The Karnataka government, through its venture, the Karnataka Wine Board (KWB), has inked 10 memoranda of understanding (MoU) to set up new wineries in the state. These companies are Nisarga Wines Pvt. Ltd; Indira Ambience Pvt. Ltd; Rico Wineries; Krishna Valley Wines; Heritage Wines; Elite Wineries; Krishnamruga Wineyard; Dada Winery; Nandi Valley Winery and Alpine Wineries Pvt. Ltd.
"We have gone on to sign memoranda of understanding with new investors to set up new wineries in Karnataka. In the last four years the state has added 12 new wineries and there are five more in the pipeline," informed K G Suresh Chandran, managing director, KWB.
KWB espoused the cause of the state's grapes economy, as part of its efforts to consolidate its position both nationally and globally. In this regard, the government chalked out ambitious plans to showcase the potential of the agro-based grape and wine industries.
The plans covered would augment an additional 3,000 acres and take the total acreage under wine grape cultivation to 5,000 acres by 2015. Simultaneously, the state aims to double the wine production from the current 2.50 million litres.
The state, with 17,356 hectares under grapes and an estimated annual production of 3.18 lakh metric tonnes, is second only to Maharashtra both in terms of acreage and production. Against this backdrop, encouraging the setting up of processing units and promoting the wine industry assumes great importance in the larger interest of the economy and farmers (grape-growers) in particular.
According to Subhir Hari Singh, additional chief secretary & development commissioner, and chairman, KWB, there is a need to create awareness about grapes and wine-making amongst farmers, entrepreneurs and the general public. This was one of the ways to provide Karnataka wineries global exposure and facilitate technological tie-ups between domestic entrepreneurs and foreign wine-makers.
Not only that, KWB, in this regard, had organised the International Wine Festival 2012 (IWF 2012) in the city recently. The festival was co-sponsored by the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI), the National Horticulture Board (NHB), the Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation Limited (KAPPEC) & the Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Limited (KSBCL). Various state departments, including horticulture, industries and commerce, tourism, excise and police had also co-ordinated the activities.
"Having created the back-end infrastructure, the board has turned its attention to promotional aspects, and IWF 2012 was the first major attempt in this direction," informed Chandran.
There were 50 wineries, including 10 global wineries, which participated in the event, along with a host of machinery suppliers and agro-input service providers who exhibited their latest offerings. The festival also had wine-tasting sessions aimed at encouraging wine consumption and offering wineries a chance to interact directly with consumers.
The government was keen to ameliorate the problems of grape-growers, said Vandita Sharma, principal secretary, horticulture. A sustainable long-term solution is the need of the hour, and the wine festival is a dedicated attempt to provide forward linkages to the agro-based industry. This is where IWF 2012 created a platform for the stakeholders to further nurture wine grape cultivation and wine production in Karnataka.
The state's congenial agro-climatic conditions have helped the cultivation of grapes. Farmers from different regions have been making the best use of the situation by successfully growing grapes for several decades. Despite the government's best efforts, the marketing of fresh grapes through Hopcoms (Horticultural Producers' Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society Ltd) outlets proved to be a major challenge. This led the government to formulate the Karnataka Grape Processing and Wine Policy, 2007, which was a crucial effort to micro-manage the grape economy, with KWB designated as nodal agency to ensure a harmonious growth of both grapes and the wine industry in the state, according to P Hemalatha, director of horticulture, Lalbagh, Bangalore.
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