Explore Strategies and Trends of Agrochemical Formulation Development in India

AgroPages recently interviewed Mr. RK Shetty, Managing Director at Heranba Industries and Mr. Rahul Vaishnav, Assistant General Manager at Meghmani Organics. In this interview, they shared their views on the challenges and countermeasures of formulation development, overseas formulation markets, formulation development strategy, as well as the development situation of Indian pesticide formulation market and more.

Could you please give an overview of your company's pesticide formulation business? What are the challenges and countermeasures of formulation development?

Mr. RK Shetty: HERANBA is into formulation of pesticides since more than 15 years, catering to both Indian and Export market. Company is equipped with capacity to manufacture all types of formulations like EC, SC, ZC, EW, OD, WDG, etc. 

Our R&D Team is in the process of developing more new generation formulations and off-patented molecules which will be a key to our success in coming years 

HERANBA has the capability and expertise in the development of formulations like CS-Capsule suspensions, ZC (combination of CS and SC), SE- Suspoemulsion, ME- Micro emulsions, and many more. Our manufacturing facility includes Spray driers, Extruders, Jet Mills, and ACM’s, CS Plant, Bead mills and mixing vessels.

We have developed and marketed few innovative formulations like Lambda 4.9% CS for crop protection, Lambda 10% CS for Public health, Lambda 250 g/L CS for US market and Lambda 6% + Thiamethoxam 12% ZC, Bifentherin 10% CS for Export market. We are also in the verge of collaborating with many overseas Customers in US, Brazil, EU and Latin for new formulation development.

Mr. Rahul Vaishnav: Meghmani Organics Limited is serving the agrochemical industry since 1991. Our state of art facilities are based in Gujarat, the prime chemical belt of India having proximity to ports. Meghmani has two Government accredited R&D centers and it focusses on continuous process improvement and into introduction of a new molecules and novel combinations to meet needs of Global markets.

Meghmani has a dedicated formulation plant with huge capacities to produce various grades of advanced formulations like EC, SL, SC, SG, WP, WDG, DF, GR, DP, ZC, CS, ME, EW and specializes in providing tailor made new formulations based on customer requirements. Our facilities are well equipped for contract manufacturing.

Our in house GLP lab and a qualified registration team supports data generation to meet various registration requirements of different countries. An NABL accredited Laboratory helps in having quality analysis and practices.

The use of agrochemicals is to improve the crop yield and quality for which continuous R&D has to be done to create and manufacture indigenous technicals and be backward integrated for key raw materials to be able to be self-reliant and cost effective.

With supportive government policies, Indian agrochemical industry is witnessing a shift towards companies enhancing production capacities, developing new molecules and adopting to global practices. With R&D investments, companies can create better solutions that are safer, more efficient and are compliant with international standards.

Does your company export formulated pesticide products to overseas markets? What are your main export destinations? 

Mr. RK Shetty: Yes, out of our formulation business, 20% of the formulated products are exported across the globe which includes regulated markets as well and we expect an exponential growth in this segment 

We have been exporting our technicals and formulated products to more than 75 countries and we are strongly poised to increase our business in the regulated markets with upcoming registrations which is a key to enter newer markets. Our business in this regulated markets have already begun with the registrations received in previous year and expecting very good outcome in years to come.

Mr. Rahul Vaishnav: Meghmani is currently catering to over 90 countries with more than 500 customers well spread across the globe. Our key markets for formulated 

products are USA, Africa, Central & Latin America, Australia and Asian countries. 

What is the formulation development strategy to respond to evolving industry challenges?

Mr. RK Shetty: Last year, there were many challenges we faced and we have ascertained the changes which needs to be incorporated in our business strategy by diversifying the product mix and entering new markets with new products and more focus on R&D.

Our company was pre-dominantly perceived as a manufacturer of Synthetic Pyrethroids in past, now we have a diversified product portfolio and to elevate on this strategy, we are coming up with new manufacturing facilities in Gujrat (Sarigam and Saykha), where the focus is mainly on manufacturing Herbicide and Fungicides at a larger scale, catering to all types of requirements.

Mr. Rahul Vaishnav: We constantly review the product basket and believe in discarding near obsolete products with newer molecules. We have recently introduced 8 new molecules and will be coming up with 3-4 more molecules by end of 2024. 

Being backward integrated for most of our technical products makes us a reliable and competitive partner.

Could you outline the current situation of Indian pesticide formulation market? 

Mr. RK Shetty: All formulations have very good market in India, but in recent times we have observed the need for new generation formulations like EW, OD, ZC, FS, WDG in demand and our company is well versed to cater to all these requirements. 

There are many challenges which an industry has to face in business and we feel our Indian manufacturers are well versed with technology, expertise & R&D facility to develop all type of formulations to suit market requirements.

Mr. Rahul Vaishnav: Traditional formulations like EC, SC and SL still hold major market. However there is a shift seen for newer formulations like CS, ME, EW, WDG. Also to fight resistance, a lot of 2 way or 3 way product combinations are introduced to make the product more effective on multiple pests.

This article was published in AgroPages '2023 Formulation & Adjuvant Technology ' magazine published this May.

If you'd like to share your company's story and products/solutions. Please contact Grace Yuan via: grace@agropages.com