MCF to up speciality fertiliser biz

Plans to import 150,000 tonnes of DAP, 100,000 tonnes of potash in 2009-10

Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (MCF), a UB Group company and manufacturer of fertiliser is planning to expand its specialty fertiliser business in the next couple of years. The company, which has over 50 new generation fertiliser products in its basket, plans to expand the business through its Integrated Nutrient Management division, set up four years ago.

The division, which posted sales of just Rs 26 lakh in 2004-05, saw sales of Rs 52 crore in 2008-09. This year, the MCF aims to double its sales to Rs 100 crore and reach a level of Rs 500 crore in the next three years, Deepak Anand, managing director, MCF Limited said.

MCF has set up a research and development centre at Hassan to develop new generation fertiliser. It has engaged agriculture scientists to develop the new varieties. The specialty fertiliser are generally low volume and high value business for the company as some of them are priced in the range of Rs 500 per kg as against the normal urea price of Rs 4.60 per kg.

“The soils and crops are different in different areas and nutrition requirements are different depending on the soil condition. So, we conduct soil testing on behalf of farmers and analyse what the soil lacks. Based on the tests we decide the mix of fertiliser suitable to their soil conditions. We are doing this through our Integrated nutrient management division. The fertiliser and micro-nutrients are manufactured by us at various places and also import some of them and market them in southern states,” he said.

H M Kshetrapal, senior vice president-marketing, MCF said, “We are presently popularising the use of specialty fertiliser among farmers, wherever necessary. Today, the soil in our country does not have all the 16 nutrients required to grow a plant. So, they need a special fertiliser for the crop. We presently manufacture and sell a wide range of micro-nutrients and fertiliser including organic manure, water soluble fertiliser, granulated fertiliser and liquid fertiliser. We wish to expand this business in Maharashtra this year and go all India in the next couple of years.”

The farmers get nearly 15-20 per cent of extra output in addition to the normal output by using these fertiliser, he said. Of the 52 products in our basket, we presently produce 12 on our own, import another 15 and the rest are sourced from the domestic small manufacturers.

The company uses farmer demonstrations and mobile vans to propagate the use of these specialty fertiliser.

Apart from the specialty fertiliser, MCF plans to import large volumes of diammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash (MOP) and urea, which is not available in the country. During February this year, MCF imported 90,000 tonnes of DAP for $36 million for sale in Karnataka. This was done to avoid the shortage of DAP in the state.

During the present year, the company plans to import around 150,000 tonnes of DAP and 100,000 tonnes of potash and repack it at its plant in Mangalore for sale within the country, Ananda added.