Bunge Agriculture India, the Indian subsidiary of the $22-billion Bunge Ltd, has launched three new variants of Dalda in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The company has also announced plans for the launch of a new brand of edible oil. Launching the three new variants under the flagship brand, Dalda, Christopher White, regional general manager (Asia), Bunge Ltd, said, "We will launch a new brand, which would be identified as a health-oriented brand along side Dalda."

Dalda is now available in three variants - filtered gingili oil, refined sunflower oil and refined groundnut oil. The product comes in one-litre, two-litre and five-litre packages. The company has also launched soyabean oil, ground nut oil and mustard oil in northern India.

White said the edible oil market in India is highly fragmented. "The logistics infrastructure and distribution networks are regional and underdeveloped," he said. He said Bunge would place additional thrust on distribution and integrate its marketing and communication. According to White, at present the Asian (primarily Indian) operations of Bunge contribute 15 per cent of the parent company's revenues and this is expected to increase substantially in the next five years.

Last year in June, Bunge acquired the edible oils and fats business of Hindustan Lever including Dalda and Masterline brands. Later in the year the company acquired private edible oils company, Prestige Foods, which included an oilseed-processing unit with an integrated vegetable oil refinery and packaging facility and production capacity of 150 tons per day of refined oil and 100 tons per day of vanaspati.

Both the acquisitions are seen as part of Bunge's continuing expansion in the Indian oilseed processing market, estimated at around Rs70,000 crore of which the refined packaged oil is around 15 per cent.

According to figures stated in Oil World, India is forecast to produce 22 to 23 million tons of oilseeds in 2003/04, powered by a good monsoon. Imports, as a consequence, are likely to fall added the report.

According to White, "India is one of our most important vegetable oil markets with outstanding growth potential. Our mission is to become a leading integrated edible oil company here," he said.

Bunge is trying to to revitalise the Rs200 crore (Rs2 billion) Dalda brand, which accounts for five per cent of the domestic edible oils market.

White said Dalda hasn't done well in the recent past because HLL did not look at the brand as part of its core business. The Dalda buyout gave Bunge the ownership over HLL's three production plants in Trichy, Bundi and Pithampur, and also an R&D facility in Bangalore. The company also took over HLL's bakery fats brand Masterline.

According to White, Bunge will roll out its new marketing campaign that includes a direct customer programme across 422 towns.

White said even though India is the biggest importer of edible oils in the world, the average consumption of 10kg-per annum is lower than the world average of 18kg and there is tremendous potential to expand the market.