Nagarjuna Agrichem's domestic operations to remain unaffected

The last week’s fire accident that led to the suspension of operations at its entire plant in Srikakulam would affect Nagarjuna Agrichem's exports while domestic operations will remain more or less normal as the company's formulation units located elsewhere continue to operate, according to a senior company official.

It may be recalled that 14 persons were injured when one of the five manufacturing blocks at the technicals (chemical ingredients) plant gutted in fire, leading to a demand for closure of operations by the locals.

“The factories department and the Pollution Control Board have asked the management to suspend the operations till the causes of the accident and the safety standards at the plant are ascertained. We do not know for how long would the operations remain suspended as the authorities had not specified any time frame. However, this won’t affect the domestic operations as the plant is meant to produce technicals to overseas customers,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Last year, the company, a part of the Hyderabad-based diversified Nagarjuna group, had reported Rs 600-crore revenues, of which exports contributed around Rs 220 crore.

While the company is still in the process of assessing the damage besides facing the demand for permanent closure of operations from people of nearby villages, the time to complete the ongoing process would determine the ultimate loss to the company.

“But most of the technicals produced here are exclusively meant for overseas customers. Even if a portion of it is being used by our formulations units that would not impact the domestic operations,” the official of Nagarjuna Agrichem told Business Standard. The company currently produces 45 generic plant protection products and markets them under its brand name domestically.