IFFCO launches joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp for manufacturing agrochemicals

NEW DELHI: Fertiliser cooperative IFFCO today formally launched a joint venture with Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp for manufacturing agrochemicals in India that will start operation in this rabi season starting October.

IFFCO holds 51 per cent stake and the rest is held by Mitsubishi in the joint venture IFFCO-MC Crop Science Private Ltd. The shareholding pact was signed last month.

"The company was formally launched today...The operations of this new JV will start from this rabi season. IFFCO-MC will come up with 20 different products across various product range of agrochemicals," IFFCO said.

IFFCO said it is looking forward to have its own production units in India as a long term goal.

In a statement, the cooperative said that the logo of the JV firm was exchanged between IFFCO Chairman Balvinder Singh Nakai and Mitsubishi Corporation India Chairman and Managing Director Masakazu Sakakida here today.

Speaking on the development, IFFCO Chairman said, "We were getting continuous demand from farmers across the country to make available good quality insecticides, fungicides and weedicides apart from quality fertilisers, which IFFCO is supplying through cooperative societies."

IFFCO Managing Director and CEO U S Awasthi said, "With this foray into agrochemical business, IFFCO wishes to fulfil its commitment towards farming community and will enlarge its services specially to them and agricultural sector."

IFFCO have a strong presence in fertiliser market in the country and Mitsubishi Corporation, which has expertise in agrochemical business internationally, are going to have a synergy to make available quality agrochemicals at reasonable price to Indian farmers even in far flung areas, the statement added.