Meet The Sisters Behind One of India’s Biggest Millet Exporters & a Multi-Crore Millet Brand

When sisters Priya and Akila Gunasekar started their millet business with just 10 employees in Tiruchi, they never dreamed their business RA Foods would emerge as one of India's biggest millet exporters. Today, they buy millets from 500 farmers and employ 180 people.

By Shivani Gupta

February 28, 2024

A couple of years back when Tiruchi’s Priya and Akila Gunasekar started their millet business, they never dreamed that their products would one day be sold overseas.

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The two sisters started their business with 10 employees and entered into contract farming agreements with 14 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). Today, they buy millets from 500 farmers and employ 180 people with 90 percent of them being women.

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Currently, RA Foods is involved in selling packaged products like thinai rava, varagu rava, mixed millet that comprise of thinai, varagu, saamai, kuthiraivalli, and kambu. Interestingly, the sisters have tapped the international market in 30 countries including the USA, England, Dubai, and Singapore.

Over the years, the siblings have set up 11 millet factories in Perambalur, Ariyalur, and Dindigul. As of today, their firm has emerged as one of India’s biggest millet exporters by exporting 2,700 tonnes of millet in 2023 and their annual turnover is a staggering Rs 136 crores.

Edited by Padmashree Pande

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