IG International, a leading Indian fresh fruit importer, announced it has joined forces with India’s JM Baxi Group to build a world-class cold storage facility and use JM Baxi’s existing container freight station in Nhava Sheva, near the port of Mumbai, to reduce lead-time and enhance its deliveries across India.
The move will bolster IG's capabilities, allowing the firm to handle a total volume of 15,000 TEUs annually at Nhava Sheva, up from 7,000 TEUs. In addition, food safety and plant and quarantine inspections will be held at the container freight station, reducing delivery turnaround time, IG said.
Commenting on the move, Tarun Arora, director, IG International, said, “We are committed to providing best quality produce to our Indian consumers. Imported fresh fruits will now be delivered directly to our customer’s location straight from the container freight station without unloading them in the cold storage.
'India is set to achieve exponential economic growth and we are preparing ourselves for tomorrow as we anticipate massive growth in demand for imported fruits in the coming decade,' he added.
'Infrastructure projects have their gestation period and it takes time to build such projects. We believe, building this new enhanced capacity will help our industry to grow faster. This model is a game changer for the fresh produce industry in India and IGIPL is very proud to collaborate with JMB. Both are family-owned companies and share the same values.”
IG International imports 31 varieties of fruits to India from 22 countries across the globe. The company has cold storage facilities and wholesale outlets across India in cities including Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Pune, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, Cochin, Patna, and Nagpur, and a global presence with offices in Belgium, Czech Republic, China and US.
JM Baxi Group is India’s leading integrated logistics, services, transportation and maritime conglomerate serving the import-export trade for over 100 years. JM Baxi's infrastructure business, International Cargo Terminals & Infrastructure (ICTIPL), serves the trade with six terminals across India: two in Visakhapatnam, and one each in Kandla, Paradip, Rozi (Jamnagar) and Haldia. It also operates an inland container depot near Delhi and container freight stations in Visakhapatnam and Nhava Sheva.
ICT’s recent foray into the cold chain business includes cold storage facilities in Sonepat near Delhi, with work soon to start on one at Nhava Sheva and other locations across India, paving the way for further cooperation with IG.
