Interview with Insecticides (India) Ltd

With a growing domestic and international market, we continue to look for new markets where our products can be beneficial, expresses Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides (India) Ltd (IIL).

What are your plans to foray into the promising go-to markets globally?

Our business plan for the next two years is to expand our base of key manufacturing molecules into maximum geographies backed by data in meeting regulatory compliance. This is our core strategy and we will expand IIL's base through this.                                  

What efforts are you taking to reduce your raw material dependence on China?

Following Covid 19, when China, the world's largest agrochemical exporter, was forced to halt operations, Indian agrochemical companies took the initiative, found markets and began supplying to regions where China was the leader. Simultaneously, as part of the government's Make in India initiative, we improved our R&D efforts and began manufacturing for certain products previously imported.

For the past two years, we have attempted to obtain raw materials from various Indian regions, and in the coming years, we will continue to increase our self-reliance on raw materials, thereby reducing our reliance on China. Backward integration is the key to reducing our reliance on raw materials from China to some extent. Some of the technicals will be manufactured at our facility in Dahej, Gujarat.

What are your capital expenditure plans for FY22 and FY23?

We have planned a capital expenditure of Rs 150 crore for three years block that is expected to complete by end of FY22 or latest by Q1FY23. Post this we would be incurring mainly the maintenance cost.

What are your growth levers?

We've been working on registering various products in various geographies around the world so that we can prepare data packs for them. We currently have footprints in about 25 countries, with plans to expand further by next year. Building on the new generation of products is one of our key growth levers. By promoting the responsible use of agrochemicals, IIL is committed to the farmers' welfare.

As a result, our research and development team is constantly working on new products that will help us increase yield while using the least amount of resources possible. We are constantly working to expand our capabilities. With a growing domestic and international market, we continue to look for new markets where our products can be beneficial. At the same time, we're improving our R&D capabilities and launching new products every year.

At the moment, what are your top three strategic priorities?

In line with our growth strategy, we will focus on launching new generation products and molecules under 9(3) registrations this year. We will also focus on backward integration to reduce our reliance on imports. In accordance with our plans, we will increase product registrations in exports and focus on R&D to launch proprietary molecules.