India is one of the largest producer, exporter and consumer of rice in the world that gives it a very prominent position in the international rice market. It was in 1980s when the country’s government allowed the start of rice export which gave a major boost to the rice sector and to the GDP of the nation. Though initially the export market mainly catered to the basmati segment. However, now even non-basmati rice sector exports are flourishing at a good rate.
Sri Sai Nath Agri Industries (SSAI) is one of the distinguished producers and exporters of rice that goes by an organized structure from top to bottom. With more than 42 years of experience in the industry, the company is well equipped with all sets of operations starting from production to final delivery of product.
SSAI is a family owned business and is operational for more than four decades now. The company has been a witness to the dynamic patterns of the rice industry and has structured itself accordingly at all stages. The group company started with a humble beginning as a trader in the market. It was in 1985 when the group company inaugurated its first production unit in Raipur. Today it has one of the biggest and well equipped rice unit of Central India at Nagpur. It is headed by Mohit Agrawal, the Director.
SSAI identifies itself as one of the largest exporters of non-basmati rice. The company has various specialized units across many places in the central part of India where it produces different types of rice. It has premium productions operations for different varieties of par boiled rice and other kinds of rice such as swarna, black rice, IR36 rice, white rice and others. All the varieties that SSAI currently manufactures are predominantly sold to the export market. It can be classified as one of the distinguished distributors of par boiled rice to the European and African countries. “We started export of rice in 1992 just when the government allowed. Before that we did business in the domestic market catering to the local demand. And now, we are one of the largest exporters of rice in India. Our production units are spread all across central India and are collectively capable of producing 1600 metric tonnes of rice a day”, says the Director.
Assurance of Quality
There are various factors at play when it comes to exports, the first of which is quality. Various quality certifications and accreditations must be kept under consideration if a company is looking to conduct business through export. Operations
related to the production, logistics and timely delivery of goods play significant role in the overall performance of the business. This is where most of players in the rice market in India struggle. Since major part of the market here is highly unorganized, leading to imperfections and delay in logistics.
Being in the market for such a long time, the company has gained a lot of experience and knowledge of the domain it is acting on. There are employees in the establishment that have been working with SSAI for more than two decades now. SSAI has taken keen interest to develop a very organized structure of business and it is worth mentioning that today, the whole business runs on auto pilot. The company has made use of all modern technology to streamline its operations right from production to delivery. It uses the most advanced machinery for its production units so as to keep up to the global quality standards. “Our production unit in Nagpur is the biggest among the units we currently have. It is equipped with the most advanced and latest Japanese machinery. The company is open for any new technology and takes considerable interest to implement the same in our business”, he adds.
The company has made use of all modern technology to streamline its operations right from production to delivery
90 percent of SSAI’s overall production consists of boiled and steam rice and it has finessed these processes. Over its years of experience the company has researched and developed its proprietary methods of steaming and parboiling of rice. All the dryers and cookers are custom designed to fit in with the company’s one of a kind production techniques. The quality of parboiled in terms of colour, taste, odour, cooking results, and more, depends on the quality of water being used during parboiled process. To maintain high quality we use RO water and ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) water. "The ETP capacity of our plant is 4.5 lakhs litres per day. In addition, we harnesses Green Energy (Solar energy) for the manufacturing processes.. We have In house laboratory where quality check of every batch of rice is done at all stages of rice processing”, states the Director.
How we Do it
SSAI mill units are located in close proximity to the paddy market. The company’s Sourcing & Processing units are strategically located between paddy hubs, which helps it form a seamless transportation network and helps the company to procure the highest quality of paddy at affordable rates all-round the year. The factories are strategically located in areas that are in close proximity to the Container Depots and Railway Centres, thus saving a lot of time for logistics movement. Most of the produce is locally sourced directly from farmers, encouraging a better livelihood and a stronger local ecosystem. SSAI machines are installed with a fully automated PLC based system from Allen Bradley.
The company has made its setup in most of the ports from where we export, Vishakhapatnam port, Kakinada and more. Internally all our operations are MIS controlled. There is no human touch involved in handling rice grain in any of the processes. The complete process of manufacturing, packaging and loading is completely automated and closely guided by the company’s quality check experts. The company pays attention to ethics and discipline throughout.
The Road Ahead
Since its inception in 1978, SSAI has had a very successful and inspiring journey so far. It is currently exporting to various African countries and some countries in the European continent as well. Over the years, the company has built many production units and has been increasing production on an year on year basis. The company plans on carrying along with the good work and to keep increasing its production and customer base. It is planning on setting up its own distribution unit in Africa and on taking a step forward towards being an international corporation. "We want to increase our production capacity in the coming years to come, whereby we are able to cater to a significant part of the world. Our endeavor is to provide the best possible quality of rice in the export market. We aim towards sustainable manufacturing excellence", concludes the Director.
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