Fumakilla stepping up insecticide business in Indonesia and Mexico

Fumakilla Ltd. is taking steps on the dual front of product quality and supply capability to accelerate the expansion of it insecticide business in emerging markets like Indonesia and Mexico, which have vast scope for growth. Its overseas development spans 70 countries, including exports and licensing. Its offshore sales amounted to 4.8 bn yen ($ 56.3 mn) in fiscal 2009, and its target for this fiscal year is to increases its sales by at least 10% over the figure in fiscal 2010.

In Indonesia, the company will embark on the marketing of insecticide mats and liquids with improved efficacy against mosquitoes. Having conducted a major formulation review, it intends to introduce a series of new products such as oil-based insecticide that are filled into hand pumps for spraying. It is applying for their registration as pesticides and is targeting market launch after this summer. Although the products will be competing against US company S.C. Johnson and Son’s Baygon brand, whose local presence is strong, it believes that its products’ overwhelming mosquito-control efficacy will result in market superiority and is aiming for a market share of 20%, up from current 16%, within 2-3 years.

Fumakilla also recently acquired, at a cost of about 100mn yen ($1.17 mn), a plant on the outskirts of Banjarmasin on the island of Kalimantan of a local manufacturer of mosquito-repelling incense, raising its output capacity for the incense by more than 20% when combined with that of its Tanggerang plant. It has a market-leading share of 30% for the incense in Indonesia and the capacity boost will aloe it to place more distance between itself and its rivals. A reduction in annual logistics costs of some 25mn yen is expected as well.

In Mexico the company will add new sales bases in Tampico, Chiapas and Sinaloa during this year to its existing network of five bases. It will also increase its number of sales promoters who provide support at retail outlets by 20 to a total of 50. It is aiming to lift its share of the country’s market for mosquito-repelling incense by 4 percentage points to 10% in 2012.