Nagarjuna Agrichem explores export opportunity

Business LineMr K.S. Raju, Chairman of Nagarjuna Group, with Mr V. Vijay Shankar, Managing Director, Nagarjuna Agrichem, at Kottur in Mahaboobnagar District of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. — P.V. Sivakumar

SHADNAGAR (MAHABOOBNAGAR DIST), JUNE 12: 

Nagarjuna Agrichem, an arm of Nagarjuna group, is planning to sell its crop protection products in the developing countries with a focus on Africa.

“We are planning to replicate the business in markets abroad,” said Mr K.S. Raju, Chairman of the group.

Talking to reporters after inaugurating the Rs 25-crore research and development centre on Tuesday, he said the company would also expand its retail distribution network by 20-25 per cent next year to expand the reach from the 9,000-retail outlets it had.

Mr V. Vijay Shankar, Managing Director of Nagarjuna Agrichem, said the company was targeting to cross the Rs 1,000-crore turnover mark in the next two years from Rs 650 crore in 2011-12. Of this, the company earned two-thirds from domestic sales and the remaining from exports.

All the exports were contract manufacturing of chemical products for multinationals. “But we would like to sell our products to farmers abroad. We have begun this activity in Africa in a small way. We have identified cost-effective molecules for this. We are in talks with some multinationals in this regard,” he said.

But the tough challenge the company faced is profitability with a poor margin of two-three per cent against the industry norm of five-six per cent. “We have revamped the management structure and trying to bring in measures to improve operational matrix. We hope to see improved profit before tax numbers this year,” he said.

The company was planning to focus more on paddy, cotton and vegetables. “We are in talks with two international firms for tie-ups to launch new products,” he said.