Mr. M.S.A. Kumar

Mr. M.S.A. Kumar (2014)
Managing Director, AVT Natural Products Ltd. (AVT NPL), Cochin Mr. Kumar has experience of 40 years in commercial horticulture enterprise. Mr. Kumar was instrumental in starting the first of its kind contract farming model in the country. He had established AVT Natural in 1994, which is a 100% Export Oriented Unit, specialized in extraction of active ingredients from natural sources like spices, flowers, fruits and leaves. It is a global leader in spices with a sales turnover of over Rs. 350 crores and employs over 700 people. During his tenure spanning two decades with AVT Natural, the agro-operation has grown multi-fold to produce marigold flowers which meet the global nutraceutical standards. From a mere 1,000 5 acres producing 2,000 Mt of marigold flowers in the mid 90s, AVT NPL’s agriculture operations grew rapidly to over 35,000 acres, producing 1,10,000 Mt annually, in early 2000. The agro-operations cover Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Over 35,000 farmers are collaborating with AVT NPL to produce marigold flowers. Over 2 lakh rural lives were closely associated with the production of marigold flowers. Mr. Kumar is recognised by different distinctions, like Dhanam Business Professional Award-2012. Under his leadership, AVT Natural Products was named one among Forbes’ Top 200 companies in the Asia-Pacific region with under $1 billion revenue and it was voted as India’s best SME in FMCG Food & Agri business Category of Emerging India Awards in 2006. He is also member of various association and professional bodies namely Association of Basic Manufacturers of Pesticides, Member, Pesticides Association of India; Member, Spices Board; Chairman, All India Spices Exporters Forum; Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry, Kerala State Council.