Krishi Rasayan Group – Marching Ahead

Krishi Rasayan Group is a company that has maintained steady and consistent growth in the Indian agrochemical market. The company achieved double-digit growth in FY2020-21 despite the impact of the pandemic.

We learned from the conversation with Atul Churiwal, Chairman of Krishi Rasayan Group, that the company has a high-quality talent team and always keeps in mind the mission of serving the farmers. Atul told us in the interview about the company's new technical plant, which will start operation in September this year, as well as the development of the company's new business.

What is the planting situation and performance of main crops in India this year?

The agriculture production in India is slightly below last year’s demand due to inconsistent rains in some parts of the country. The total acreage this year is about 2% below last year. The crops of rice, cereals and oil seeds are down, while pulses and sugarcane are slightly above last year. 

What is the company's revenue in FY2020-21? What are the highlights in terms of performance?

The Company’s revenue in FY 2020-21 was Rs. 2183 cr, which is approx. USD 300 M and shows a 20% growth from last year. The drivers for growth were the increase in brand sale due to demand from farmer level.

What new products did the company introduce to the market this year?

The new products the Company introduced were mainly combination products as follows:

• Tebuconazole 25% WDG

• Captan + Tebuconazole
  

• Fenpyroximate + Profenofos
  

• Novaluron + Emamectin
  

• Propuxor 
  

The impact of the pandemic, the rising prices of raw materials in China, what impact have these issues had on Krishi Rasayan and the entire Indian agrochemical industry? What challenges did Krishi Rasayan encounter in raw material sourcing, supply chain management and product producing, and how did you solve these problems?

The main issue currently being faced by us is getting timely supplies from China due to delay in shipments for as the availability of vessels are less. This is hampering the supply chain management and disrupting production. We are now working on a strategy to keep extra inventory in view of the uncertainty of shipment. Regarding pricing, we are seeing a down trend in most of the products, barring one or two products. 

In addition to traditional pesticides, we have seen Krishi Rasayan is also involved in crop nutrition and bio-inputs industries recently. In your opinion, which are the promising areas in current agriculture industry? What is the acceptance and adoption of new products and technologies at the farmer and dealer level in India?

We believe that the biggest growth will come in the bio-stimulants. The Indian Government has now come with a policy to regulate all bio-stimulants in the market, which will drive out all marginal and spurious manufacturers. We feel this will be a great opportunity for Companies like us to take advantage in the fastest growing segment in the Industry. With Nano technology and other new innovations in agriculture coming out, it is exciting news for the agriculture growth in the country. 

Krishi Rasayan gets 90% of its revenue from the domestic market, so we can imagine that serving local growers well should be an important thing for the company. What has the company done in terms of agricultural service and farmer support?

Realizing the need to connect with farmers directly, the Company has opened more than 70 retail chains in the various parts of the country, where it is offering farmers not only their own products but full range including fertilizers, seeds and other nutritional products so that farmers can buy all under one umbrella. Regular training programs were also held through retail points to educate the farmers about the new agriculture technologies and usage of products. 

India's agrochemical industry is experiencing rapid development and we are seeing more and more companies growing fast. And in India, there are quite a few listed agrochemical companies. Does Krishi Rasayan have any plans to go public?

As of now we do not have any plans of going public. We feel that the Industry is going through a very exciting phase and high growth will be seen in the next few years. 

Throughout the development of the company, we can feel that Krishi Rasayan always attaches great importance to the company's talent cultivation and employee care, and regards employees as the wealth of the company. Is this a typical corporate culture of the company? Is this an important factor in the success of the company?  

The Company attaches great importance to the growth and welfare of its employees. We strongly believe the greatest strength is the talent in our group. We organize regular motivational sessions by experts to motivate the employees. Various welfare measures are taken regularly for boosting the morale of our team.

What are your anticipations for next year's market development and what are your expectations for the performance of the company? 

Our technical plant is supposed to start from September 2021. We feel it will be an important additional in our operations, which will not only boost profitability in the domestic sector but lead to growth in exports. As far as operations are concerned, seeing the current trend, where the agriculture activities are less than last year, we may find it difficult to maintain last year’s growth but still are confident to cross last year’s volume. 

This article was initially published in AgroPages' '2021 India Pesticide Suppliers Guide' magazine.