fortress bio continues to build upon the momentum to establish one or more guar seed farms overseas leveraging its extensive relations in the farming community and guar gum processing factories in Rajasthan and elsewhere in India. this has taken higher precedence in its contract farming push in the light of strengthening guar gum prices in the commodities markets in India and an improving future forecast for the demand for the product.
the cosmetics and toiletry sectors are increasingly purchasing guar gum as ingredients in their products. the petroleum drilling and mining players continue to expand use of guar gum as a low cost input in drilling, hydraulic fracturing etc. the need from the animal feed sector is also the rise as feed producers are increasingly turning to healthier ingredients to meet the food needs of the consumers who are buying organic, antibiotic free, free range, pasture, non industrial animal farm produce at their local whole food and organic produce markets. also, with lower availability of animal feeds including fish meal etc have been increasing using guar.
guar is also a soil nitrogen building plant like some of the other legumes and so soil health building and introducing nitrogen into organic farming without extensively relying on chemical fertilizers is another reason why fortress is actively pursuing the guar farming plantation strategy in South America and West Africa, regions that also have close proximity to large consumer markets of North America and Europe. In Asia, guar beans are also used for human consumption and that could be another factor assisting push for these beans with good protein content into West Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.
fortress plans to grow the seeds for animal feed and also as green manure. it will eventually also establish guarm gum refinery in South America - the output of which is used in ice cream thickners, stabilizing agent in cheese production, in the making of puddings, substitutes for whipped cream that is increasingly in demand from consumers and also as a binder in meat products and animal protein substitutes.
the usual buyers from the paper and pulp industry, petroleum drilling, ore flotation and other industrial applications continue to buyer lower grades of guar seed produced guar gum.
