GLG Announces Developments for Stevia in India
The MOU confirms the interests of both parties to jointly pursue the promotion of stevia products as a healthy sweetener alternative for food and beverage manufacturers and consumers in India.
13 May 2010 --- GLG Life Tech Corporation, the vertically-integrated leader in the agricultural and commercial development of high quality stevia is pleased to announce it has signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with Global AgriSystem Private Limited, a Katra Group company regarding the introduction of GLG’s stevia products in India.
The MOU confirms the interests of both parties to jointly pursue the promotion of stevia products as a healthy sweetener alternative for food and beverage manufacturers and consumers in India. The agreement between the two companies includes an initial phase of market development for GLG stevia extracts as well as the agricultural development of growing regions for GLG patented stevia plant varieties. The companies are also discussing the potential joint construction of extraction facilities in India as demand is built.
GLG Chairman and CEO Dr. Luke Zhang commented, “GLG is pleased to work with the Katra Group after our growing relationship has shown our companies to share a common vision of promoting the health and well-being of millions of people who can benefit from the use of stevia. As the world’s leading consumer of sugar and one of the largest markets globally, India holds significant potential for GLG stevia extracts which can aid in the reduction of sugar consumption in the consumer diet. We look forward to working with the Katra Group to continue to develop and build this opportunity together.”
Mr. Gokul Patnaik, Chairman of Global Agri commented, “India needs value added agri products like stevia, that provide solutions to meet the local demand gap for sweeteners. India’s agriculture base can easily adapt and handle the growing of the stevia plant, given its conducive climatic conditions.”
Mr. Ramesh Vangal, Chairman of Katra Group states, “Stevia blends very well with the wellness focus of the group and it is our endeavor to partner with global leaders like GLG to bring cutting edge technologies which can leverage the large agri base of India to provide consumers with a natural and healthy alternative to sugar.”
India has experienced recent growth in obesity rates among consumers as daily intake of sugar continues to grow. This trend has resulted in proliferation of additional associated health risks including diabetes. According to the World Diabetes Foundation, India has the world’s highest rate of diabetes with more than 50.8 million people suffering from the disease. Governmental and societal concerns over diet and intake have created a key development opportunity for healthier food and beverage ingredients such as stevia. With a population of 1.2 billion, GLG believes India’s consumer base offers an untapped market for GLG stevia extracts and a significant opportunity for natural, zero calorie sweeteners.
