Company Name:Suminter India Organics
Year Founded:2003
Name of Program:
Sector:Agriculture
State / Region:
Country:India
Social Impact:In creating market linkages for organic cotton farmers, Suminter has reached approximately 13,000 farmers across six states in India, helping them increase their income by 15-20%. Collectively, these farmers have converted 70,000 acres of land used to produce conventional crops to farmland that produces organically certified crops. Suminter's operations have not only had a socioeconomic impact on the farmers and communities with which it works but also on the environment as the company promotes better, more environmentally friendly and safe farming practices.
Contact Name:Suminter India Organics
Contact Information:X Cube, 3rd Floor, Opposite Fun Republic
New Link Road,
Andheri (West),
Mumbai 400 053, Mahrashtra, India
Tel.:+91 22 4202 9000
Email:ginfo@suminter.com
Website:http://www.suminterindiaorganics.com
Suminter India Organics
Established in 2003 in Mumbai, India, Suminter India Organics has grown from a small trading company with the aim of helping local farmers to a fully integrated organic cotton and produce supply chain that distributes cotton products within India and both cotton and produce abroad. Suminter is currently working with 7,500 farmers who have approximately 80,000 acres under cultivation across the five states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Kerala, and Rajasthan. By providing farmers with inputs such as seeds, training them in organic farming methods, and entering into 5-10 year purchase contracts with them, Suminter is able to supply high quality organic cotton and produce including various fibers, seeds, and spices to the market. To ensure quality, Suminter requires all of its farmers to be certified organic through an international certification agency. Suminter also has strict quality controls for farmers as well as its processing plants, and has monitoring processes in place through dozens of field officers, who regularly check on its farms. The company currently has five processing plants including a 20,000 square meter unit, which opened in April of 2009 and can handle around 80% of Suminter's product range. The purchase and development of the new unit was made possible due to a Series A round of financing of $3 million that the company had received from Nexus Capital India more than a year earlier. Suminter distributes its produce to 13 countries including the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Europe. Its distribution for Europe goes through a subsidiary in the Netherlands. Suminter India Organics has grown quickly while remaining financially viable. The company became an Endeavor partner in 2008, is looking into Series B financing, and has plans for significant expansion.