How would you explain the emerging trends in agrochemicals in India and globally?

The Indian agrochemical industry faced several headwinds in the past three years. The industry struggled to sustain, rather several business houses showed a declining trend. Similar is the case with the global market. Severe challenges in supply and demand led to raw material price fluctuations throughout the year. Still several companies, including Indofil have shown growth and turned these problems to opportunities. It’s observed that the demand for off-patented molecules remains strong and growing year by year, along with new solutions being added to support the farming fraternity. 

Three main challenges faced by the Indian agrochemicals sector and what are the suggested solutions?  

The key challenges Indian industry faces are:  

Cash crunch across the value chain - We should look at options like channel financing via financial institutions. It helps in mitigating the short-term cash issues with minimal cost;

Supply & Demand – Indian industry is severely dependent on China supplies and looking at ongoing geopolitical issues, it’s important that we find ways to backward integrate key product lines and find solutions by coming together instead of competing; and

End to end solution for farmers – Though everyone is trying hard in this aspect however still the success is not as expected. It’s important now for the agrochemical industry to think of not only providing input chemicals, rather prepare to provide end to end solutions, from seed to harvest. It’s only possible by collaboration if all participating industries come together and offer solutions based on the strengths in a collaborative way.  

How has the performance been for Indofil in the first 9 months of FY 2024-25? Could you elaborate on the factors that contributed to this strong performance?

For Indofil, the first quarter was quite challenging because of weak demand, however in quarter 2 and 3, we revived our strategy and as a result, we could regain the momentum. Overall, for nine months, Indofil could record the desired growth on topline as well as profitability. We kept a close eye on competition and the changing environment. We were very particular on our pricing strategy, cost control measures, and balanced approach for market share gain.     

How have different product segments contributed to the overall revenue, and which segments have shown highest growth? 

Indofil is known for its fungicide portfolio. This year has been one of the best years for our fungicide portfolio and we recorded strong growth. We worked on our legacy products and with revised strategy and were able to outperform. Our journey continued for the growth in insecticide portfolio and we continue to strengthen our herbicide product line. Overall, our approach towards crop diversification and growth helped in growing our market share across the country. 

How has Indofil's diverse product range contributed to its market leadership in both agricultural and specialty chemicals?

Now, Indofil has products for all important crops and this is possible because of our continuous efforts to include new products for the last 3-5 years. Indofil has products to offer for almost all key crops in India. Similarly, our specialty division is continuously adding new product lines to support our customers. Our R&D strengths are increasing year on year and investment continues to support growth.    

 What were the primary areas of capital expenditure in 2024, and how do these investments align with Indofil’s strategic objectives? 

Indofil is continuously investing on manufacturing capabilities, by adding new equipment for volume growth, to bring efficiency and productivity enhancement. These investments are helping us to offer products at competitive prices. Our investment on agro product registration continues to ensure we strengthen our portfolio and crop diversification drive. All our Capex are planned to support our mid-long term growth strategy.    

Indofil repaid Rs. 200 crores of debt in FY24. How has this debt reduction impacted the company's financial health and future investment plans? 

Indofil is continuously working towards strengthening our cash flow situation. Our financial control measures are the key driver to pay off the debt. Indofil’ s management keeps a close eye on profitable volume growth by strengthening our cash flow situation to ensure we are ready for future investments.   

Can you outline any upcoming capital projects or expansions planned for the next fiscal year? 

As said earlier, Indofil is investing continuously in business and will continue to look for opportunities for organic and inorganic growth. 

With exports comprising around 40 - 45 per cent of revenues over the past three fiscal years, how is Indofil expanding its global footprint and entering new markets?

We are very focused on our international business growth. In the past 2-3 years, we have taken several strategic calls to expand our reach across the globe by investing in registration for new products/mixtures beyond mancozeb. We are now ready with products to offer in the Europe and Brazil market which will help us for future growth in this market. Indofil is also continuously investing to expand its innovative solution business reach across the globe. 

How is Indofil integrating sustainable solutions into its product development and operations to address environmental concerns?

Indofil is very focused towards sustainable growth. We have recently invested in hybrid power and as a result, from next year onwards our manufacturing plant will use at least 50 per cent of the power generated via wind and solar source. Similarly, our new product development team works to ensure new products or processes are eco-friendly and to help in reducing carbon footprint. We have recently received Responsible Care accreditation from Indian Chemical Council. Our Ecovadis score is also improving year on year. All our manufacturing sites are working on zero discharge operations. Our efforts towards reducing carbon emission continue by streamlining our supply chain.   

Indofil introduced insecticides like Hokori and herbicides such as Gadget, Tembofil, and Smack in 2024. How have these products impacted the company's growth?

Indofil is proud to launch these products within one year which are surely going to help the farmers to improve their productivity. These products significantly contributed to the growth this year and we have a robust marketing plan to take these products to greater heights in future. As said earlier, Indofil is committed to provide new products and solutions year on year to our customers.   

Indofil launched 'IndoLife Super Specialities' to enhance farmers' return on investments through research-based solutions. How has this initiative impacted the agricultural community? 

Our IndoLife business reached a significant mark in the past 6-7 years and surely helped the farming community with its innovative biological based products. Indofil is reviving Indolife business strategy to offer much better products and solutions with new faces in near future and new announcements will follow soon.    

What are the primary goals behind Indofil's digital transformation efforts, and how do they align with the company's overall business strategy? 

In the past three years, Indofil has significantly invested in digital transformation and it’s continued. We are channelising our actions towards paperless operation. Our several digital initiatives are going to help the organization to be more efficient and will follow the philosophy of “delivering More with Less”. These digitization efforts are bringing data transparency which is helping us to take quick and fact-based decisions. Each action and investment are aligned to our mid-long-term strategy.     

The company has received the 'Responsible Care' certification in 2024. The significance of this accreditation and the initiatives undertaken by the company to achieve it? 

Indofil is proud to share that we got Responsible Care certification in the first attempt and for all codes. Every Indofilian was involved and worked to make it happen. It also demonstrates our commitment towards sustainability. Indofil’s management is committed to provide a safe working place to all our employees and contractors. Our efforts are not limited within our own site or operation, rather we are collaborating with our customer and supplier to ensure we eliminate waste across the value chain and create an ecosystem for sustainable operation.      

Indofil aims to transition from a product-based to a solution-based company within five years. What steps were taken in 2024 towards this goal?

Indofil is always seen as a solution provider rather than just selling products. We are continuously investing in our field marketing activities by deploying our team at ground to help farmers in providing need-based solutions. We are also working to find solutions by inventing a digital tool to provide support to our farmers for soil testing, monsoon forecasting etc. Since Indian farming industry is continuously evolving, acceptance to these new technologies and solutions take more time than usual, however our government’s efforts for smart farming help the farmers fraternity to improve their productivity. Our investment in innovative solutions, by developing technical service teams, continues to provide solutions.