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Royal Canin relish for Indian pets

Ambarish Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, Aug. 24

THERE'S good news for pet lovers. French multinational Royal Canin's will start test-marketing extruded dry pet foods, including dog and cat foods made from meats and cereals.

The company will also set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in the country to undertake manufacturing.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) cleared the company's proposal last week. Earlier, it had rejected the proposal to test-market and eventually set up a wholly-owned subsidiary on the grounds that European meat products were affected by the M ad Cow disease. It was also not known if the cereals used for making the foods were genetically modified or engineered, it said.

Royal Canin brands will be marketed as over-the-counter products on a cash-and-carry basis through distributors.

The company's prime brands include Royal Canin Size Nutrition, Royal Canin Feline Nutrition, Sensible Choice, Casco, Natural Blend, Persian 30, Excel and Canister Felister.

The company set up a 51 per cent subsidiary in India in 1997. The prepared pet food market in India is estimated at around Rs 1,562 crore.

One of the global leaders in the pet foods market, Royal Canin currently enjoys a 18 per cent market-share in Europe.

The company's operations are spread across 15 countries through subsidiaries as well as wholly-owned subsidiaries. It has wholly-owned subsidiaries in Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Brazil and Argentina. Its joint venture in the US -- Pet Produc ts Plus -- became a wholly-owned subsidiary recently after which it was rechristened Royal Canin USA.

A member of the Guyomarch Group, the company is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. Its stock is also a component of the SBF 120 Index. It registered sales worth $365.29 million during the financial year ended December 2000.

The company also has a number of pet care publications in its favour, including The Royal Canin Dog Encyclopedia, The Royal Canin Cat Encyclopedia, The Practical Guide of the Sports Dog, The Practical Guide of Dog Breeding and The Practical Guide of Cat Breeding.