Ajooni Biotech Ltd. will collaborate with Avalon Bioenergy Pvt., the Indian subsidiary of the US-based Avalon Energy Group, to sustainably process moringa in India, the company announced on Tuesday.
The collaboration will lead to the establishment of processing facilities, such as crushing and drying mills, dedicated to processing moringa seeds and leaves, according to a statement by Ajooni Biotech.
According to the partnership agreement, Avalon will concentrate on extracting oil for subsequent processing and marketing. Concurrently, Ajooni will employ the residual oil cake to produce animal feed products, which will be processed further and distributed domestically in India and also exported.
"Avalon and Ajooni are interested in working together as a strategic partner for agri-processing component of the moringa project by setting up processing plants/crushing and drying mills to process moringa seeds and leaves for producing oil for further processing and marketing by Avalon, and producing oil cake for animal feed for Ajooni to further process and market to its customers in India or export abroad," Ajooni said in an exchange filing.
Avalon Bioenergy is an Indian clean energy biorefineries development company established to design, build, and operate multiple manufacturing plants pan-India to produce biodiesel, glycerin, sustainable aviation fuel, oleo chemicals and other products.
Avalon has also signed a long-term purchase and sales contract with Novvi LLC, an ole chemical company owned by Chevron USA Inc.
Avalon is leasing/acquiring arable land for cultivation of moringa oleifera and other oil seeds crops throughout India. It is also engaging and entering into contract-farming agreements with large and small cooperatives to grow moringa oleifera and other oil seed crops.
Additionally, Ajooni has expressed interest in collaborating with Avalon on similar projects in the US, Africa, Latin America, and other regions globally.
This partnership between Avalon and Ajooni signifies a commitment to sustainable and integrated processing of moringa, creating valuable products for domestic and international markets while promoting moringa cultivation in India.
Recently, Ajooni has announced the acquisition of 5,55,000 square yards (49,95,000 square feet) of land near Harij village in Patan district of Gujarat for moringa cultivation.
Earlier, Ajooni had leased 64,000 square yards of land in Derabassi of Punjab for cultivating a moringa nursery and plantation.
The company is aiming for an additional annual revenue of Rs 200 crore from the commercial production of moringa by the financial year 2025-26.
(With inputs From PTI)