Crystal Crop Protection acquires Luphos-36

India’s leading agrochemical Company, the Rs 800 cr Crystal Crop Protection Private Limited announced the acquisition of brand Luphos-36 (active ingredient: monocrotophos), a very popular pesticide and preferred choice for large number of farmers, from Mumbai based Cheminova India. This is a logical move forward for the Group, which is emerging as an important player in the agriculture inputs space.

In less than six months, this is the second successful acquisition by the Group. In December last year Crystal had acquired Hyderabad-based Rohini Seeds in order to strengthen its footprint in the agriculture inputs market. For over three decades Crystal has served millions of farmers through its range of agrochemical products including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides. The present acquisition shall help the company move up the value chain in the agro-chemical space and offer the farming community the best solutions. ICICI Securities, one of the leading merchant bankers acted as lead for the acquisition of this particular brand.

Luphos-36 is an insecticide that is effective on sucking pest of Cotton, Paddy, Caster, Cardamom, Tea, Coffee, Coconut, Mango, Sugarcane and some caterpillars on Pulses. "Luphos-36 has always been one of the most sought after brands in the India agrochemical space until it was discontinued in 2009 because of a global decision by the parent company. We are sure that the Indian agrochemical market would be excited to have one of their favourite brands back and welcome it. With this, we also wish to reiterate our commitment to providing the best solutions and services to the Indian farming community”, said Ankur Aggrawal, MD, Crystal Group.

Crystal Group is a leader in plant protection industry with an annual turnover of around Rs 800 crore and has plans to increase its turnover to Rs 1000 cr by this year. The company is eyeing to promote the brand in major states including Punjab, Haryana, AP, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, MP, Assam and West Bengal.

The Indian agrochemicals market is currently poised at over Rs 16,000 crore and it is likely to cross Rs 25,000 crore mark by 2015. Aggarwal said that rapidly growing population is constantly putting huge pressure on arable land thereby making the use of agrochemicals is inevitable to increasing farm productivity in India. “There is an urgent need to groom the farmers and inform them about agrochemicals usage and their application in terms of its quantity depending upon the nature of crops. Along with our range of products, we are also empowering farmers by facilitating correct information in a timely and effective manner,” he added.