Regaal uses incentives to lock in maize supply for Bihar mill
Regaal Resources is tying maize procurement for its Bihar wet mill to steep cash bonuses, vehicle rewards and a wider farmer collection network.
Kolkata-based Regaal Resources is using unusually aggressive incentives to secure maize supplies for its wet processing mill in Galgalia, in Bihar's Kishanganj district. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the company buys corn from growers in Bihar and West Bengal and links larger deliveries to escalating rewards that go well beyond ordinary procurement bonuses.
Chairman and managing director Anil Kishorepuria said farmers who supply 100 tonnes of maize over a season receive an incentive of 20 rupees per kilogram, while those who deliver 200 tonnes receive 40 rupees per kilogram. He said the company handed out Tata Punch cars last year to farmers who supplied more than 6,000 tonnes, and this year it plans to offer Ertiga cars to those sourcing at least 9,000 tonnes.
The programme runs through Regaal Kisan Maitri, under which farmers receive a silver passbook after due diligence and know-your-customer checks. Kishorepuria said the company uses that database to reward participants each August at a large gathering attended by thousands of farmers, while about 35 local coordinators and farmer producer organisations in West Bengal help channel grain to the mill.
The scale of procurement has expanded quickly. Regaal said it bought just 3,400 tonnes during the Covid period, procured 170,000 tonnes in 2025 and now targets 225,000 tonnes this year. At the same time it wants to raise milling capacity to 1,650 tonnes a day from 850 tonnes, although the planned April 15 start for the expansion was postponed because the LPG crisis and the Iran war disrupted costs and timing.
Regaal processes maize into corn oil, starch, gluten, germ and fibre, and it plans to add liquid glucose and new starch-based value-added products. Kishorepuria said Bihar produces about 5.5 to 5.7 million tonnes of corn and should become self-sufficient, while the company already exports starch to Malaysia, Bangladesh and Vietnam and ships enriched fibre to Vietnam and Bangladesh. He added that packaging costs have risen sharply, with HDPE bag prices up 20 to 22 per cent and drum prices up 30 per cent, even though overall input costs have risen by about 10 per cent, which he described as manageable.