Indian company Himalayan International (HI) has signed a US$747,000 contract to implement a vegetable-farming project in India’s Sirmaur district, it has announced.

Company chairman Manmohan Malik said that commercial production at the 260ha facility would be underway by January 2009, with the site expected to yield around 2,876 tonnes of produce annually.

Mr Malik said HI has agreements in place with Reliance Agri Fresh and Wal-Mart to sell the produce domestically, and is in negotiations with the group's foreign interests regarding exports.

The group has said that it plans to grow vegetables with a proven record of high international demand, while financial support for the project will be provided by the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development.