Karuturi Global

Karuturi Global Limited (KGL) was an Indian multinational agribusiness company with a complex history of diversification and international expansion, which ultimately led to its liquidation. Founded in 1994 as Karuturi Floritech by Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, the company initially focused on floriculture. Karuturi, a mechanical engineer by training, was inspired by his father, a first-generation entrepreneur in rice trading and manufacturing. He identified an opportunity in growing roses domestically in India to reduce costs compared to imported flowers, starting with an 18.6-acre farm near Bangalore.

The company's business model was centered on becoming an integrated agri-products company with a global reach. Its primary operation was floriculture, cultivating and exporting over 555 million cut roses annually from farms in India, Kenya, and Ethiopia, which at its peak made it the world's largest producer. The business served markets across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Seeking vertical integration and diversification, Karuturi Global expanded into other sectors. It established a food processing division with a plant in Tumkur, India, for bottling gherkins, beetroot, baby corn, and other vegetables for export to Europe and the US. A significant and ambitious expansion involved acquiring vast tracts of land in Ethiopia, totaling over 300,000 hectares, to cultivate cereals, sugarcane, and palm oil, aiming to become a major player in the global food market. The company also ventured into information technology, obtaining an ISP license in India and operating an internet auction portal called RoseBazaar.com.

Throughout its history, Karuturi Global underwent several name changes, reflecting its evolving business focus: from Karuturi Floritech to Karuturi.com Ltd in 2000, then to Karuturi Networks Limited in 2001, and finally to Karuturi Global Ltd in 2008. A major milestone was the 2007 acquisition of Sher Agencies in Kenya, which propelled the company to become the world's top rose producer. However, the company's aggressive expansion was fraught with challenges. Its operations in Kenya and Ethiopia faced accusations of tax evasion, labor disputes over unpaid wages, and controversy related to land acquisition. Financial difficulties mounted, with its Kenyan subsidiary being placed under receivership in 2014 and its Dutch trading arm declaring bankruptcy the same year. These issues culminated in the initiation of a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process in August 2019 due to significant debt. Ultimately, Karuturi Global was ordered into liquidation by Indian authorities in 2021, and its trading was suspended.

Keywords: agribusiness, floriculture, cut roses, agriculture, food processing, land acquisition, Karuturi Global, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Ethiopia farming, Kenya floriculture, gherkin export, rose export, corporate insolvency, liquidation, multinational agriculture, Karuturi Networks, Sher Agencies acquisition, agri-products, commercial farming, international expansion, tax evasion controversy, labor disputes