Krishi Rasayan Charts Its Course Through Agrochemical Headwinds

Atul Churiwal

Managing Director of Krishi Rasayan Group

In the face of a challenging year for the global agrochemical industry, Krishi Rasayan Group stands poised for growth, leveraging domestic market potential and innovative product lines. Atul Churiwal, Managing Director of Krishi Rasayan Group, offers insights into the company's performance and future outlook, highlighting the complexities of India's agrochemical sector.

Despite flat growth in FY 2023-24, Churiwal expresses optimism for the coming year, anticipating significant expansion in herbicides and biostimulants. The company's recent introduction of six patented molecules across various segments underscores its commitment to innovation and market diversification.

Churiwal addresses key industry challenges, including lengthy registration processes and the need for increased government support. He emphasizes the untapped potential in India's pesticide usage, which remains significantly lower than global averages. The interview also sheds light on Krishi Rasayan's international ambitions, particularly in South America, where the company aims to achieve substantial revenue growth.

How would you characterize the overall development of the Indian agrochemical industry over the past year?

The agrochemical worldwide industry has gone through a rough time in 2023 and this includes India. However, there is positive sighs in the current year and we expect significant growth in volumes in 2024 particularly in the domestic market. We believe that the domestic market will do very well though there is a lot of pressure in the international market.

India's pesticide usage remains significantly lower than other major agricultural nations. What strategies do you believe are key to responsibly increasing domestic pesticide consumption and adoption among farmers?

India still uses 1/6^th per acre of agrochemicals compared to other countries.  In the last few years consumption per acre has gone up substantially particularly in herbicides but is still well behind other countries. This trend we think will continue and with better training and proper knowledge to be given to farmers about the potential of crop loss, we believe usage per acre will be going up every year, though it will still take time to reach international levels.  

The 2024-25 Budget allocated ₹1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors. Which specific provisions do you see as most impactful for the agrochemical industry? Have you noticed any notable shifts in government support for the sector?

There has been huge allocation by the Indian government for the agriculture sector. We believe that with the creation of proper infrastructure and cold chain logistics, thus the realization of the farmers will increase and they will be able to afford more agrochemicals, which in turn will further improve their crop yield. We do not see any government support for the agrochemical industry, however, there is definite interest in the agriculture sector and push for higher agriculture yield by the Indian government.

In your view, what are the most pressing challenges facing the Indian agrochemical industry today? Are there particular policy changes you believe are needed to address these issues?

The most pressing challenges being faced by the Indian Agrochemical industry is the long gestation period of getting new registrations. Apart from that, getting a new product registered is very costly, which is deterring Indian companies.

Further the export benefits in India are far low compared to China and there is no incentive given by the Indian government in this sector. 

How did Krishi Rasayan perform in FY2023-24? 

The company’s performance in FY 2023-24 was quite flat and there was hardly any growth. However, we feel that the year FY 2024-25 will be more exciting and will see high growth. We will see more growth in herbicide and biostimulant segment. As regards export, we think South America market is recovering and we will see higher outtake from there.  

What new products has Krishi Rasayan introduced to the market over the past year?

This year we have introduced 6 patented molecules, 3 in insecticides, 2 in Fungicides and 1 in herbicide segment.  We believe this will lead to added revenue and profitability to the company.

In our previous interview, you indicated that biostimulants and exports would be major growth drivers for Krishi Rasayan. How has the company's biostimulants business progressed over the past years?

The company is giving a lot of focus on biostimulants business. Apart from our joint venture with Alge energy, Spain, we are further looking for other potential partners. Other then that, we are also doing R&D for introduction of new products in this segment. One of our biostimulant developed locally has also got a patent and we find very good demand from the market. 

How do you view the recent frequent anti-dumping investigations launched by China and India against each other regarding certain pesticides and intermediates? 

Anti-dumping investigations of many products by both the countries is a worrying trend. This will no doubt effect the trading between both the countries and also unnecessarily increase the cost of the products for both the countries. 

There's a trend of Indian agrochemical companies expanding into South America. What is Krishi Rasayan's current presence in that region, and do you have plans for further market expansion there?

Krishi Rasayan is very upbeat about the Sough American market. We have our own overseas offices and established subsidiary companies in Mexico and Brazil. We are also going for registration in various South American countries and we expect in the next 2 years to have a business of minimum USD 50 million from South America.

This story was initially published in the 2024 India Focus. Download the magazine to read more stories.

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