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As the brand continues to grow, a number of products designed the Government’s commitment to doubling farmers’ income by the
to cater to specific needs of the consumer have been added to the year 2022, growing penetration of efficient irrigation facilities and the
portfolio in recent years, like Tata Salt Lite, Tata Salt Plus and Sprinklers. increasing popularity of crop insurance schemes may help reduce
In FY 2017-18, the Company launched the powdered format for farm distress and support the agrochem industry to grow.
Rock Salt in addition to the Rock Salt crushers already in the market.
In FY 2017-18, Rallis reported higher growth in volume and gained
In keeping with its sustainability priorities, the Company piloted the
market share in key segments, with increases in Paddy and Cotton
recyclable packaging for Tata Salt in Delhi during the year.
in the domestic business. During the year, Rallis introduced five new
The details of business outlook, threats, opportunities, risks and products in the domestic market, catering mainly to paddy, cotton
concerns of salt and related products are covered with other and fruits and vegetables crop areas. The Company expanded its
consumer product portfolio under the head ‘Others’. distributor network substantially and also reviewed its credit policy
for distributors, without compromising on the established set of risk
management principles.
TATA SALT VOLUMES (‘000 MT)
Significant shifts in the farm practices and a focus on higher yields has
been leading the global seeds industry on the path of rapid growth. Integrated Report
FY 2017-18 925
According to an IMARC report, the global seed industry is likely to
FY 2016-17 905 reach a value of over US$ 86 billion by 2023, from its current value of
FY 2015-16 868 US$ 62.1 billion. India is the fifth largest seed market. At present, India’s
organised seed market is worth US$ 3.6 billion which is expected to
OTHER AGRI INPUTS grow to US$ 8 billion by 2023. Cotton, paddy, maize and vegetables
drive the demand for commercially enhanced seeds in India.
Rallis
Satisfactory monsoon ensured stable demand but Government
As the impact of strong El-Niño receded further, India received interventions experienced in some Indian states, towards the end of
normal rainfall for the second consecutive year in 2017, though the the fiscal, posed some challenges for the seed industry.
temporal and spatial distribution of the rainfall remained uneven,
India’s organised Bio Stimulants market is worth ` 2,000 crore and
affecting cropping. Due to deficient rain experienced in August
is expected to grow 11-13% a year, whereas the Micronutrients
and September in many parts of the country, around 215 districts
market is worth ` 1,800 crores and is expected to grow 8-9% a year.
(one-third on all-India level) experienced a rain distress situation. Most
Rallis operates in some of the segments of the Bio Stimulants and
of these were in the top farming States such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Statutory Reports
Micronutrients business categories of the plant growth nutrients.
Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
Cotton, paddy, chillies, pulses, fruits and vegetables drive the demand
As per the second advanced estimate, India is likely to see a record for plant growth nutrients in India.
output of food grains in the crop year 2017-18, for the second
Demonetisation and roll out of GST had a transient adverse impact on
consecutive year. The final estimate for the crop year 2016-17,
the business in the initial months of FY 2017-18.
showed that India’s food grain production jumped 9.4% to 275.1
million tonnes in the crop year 2016-17 from 251.6 million tonnes in Given the need to provide food security and enhanced production
2015-16. Despite the high base effect, India is likely to witness food along with creating value for farmers, Rallis has embarked on
grains production advancing to 277.5 million tonnes in the crop year end-to-end agri solutions - Rallis Samrudh Krishi® (‘RSK’) to drive
2017-18, an increase of 0.9% on Y-o-Y basis. farm productivity. RSK brings to the farmers the latest technology
and practices with a roadmap to increase farm productivity while
Due to back to back bumper crop years, as noted by the Economic
nurturing safety and protecting the environment. Through RSK, Rallis
Survey 2017-18, farm revenues declined for many crops due to prices
aims to create value for farmers as well as for the Company - for the
falling below MSPs (‘Minimum Support Prices’).
farmer, through higher yield, better quality and lower costs, whereas
The size of the Indian crop protection industry is approximately for the Company, through higher revenues and increase in share of
` 16,800 crore p.a. Per hectare consumption of agrochemicals is farmers’ wallet. Financial Statements
under 1 Kg, one of the lowest among major economies of the world.
Rallis provides farmers with information and predictive analysis of
India’s crop protection industry can be classified primarily into four
crop health, crop yields, soil moisture conditions, attack of diseases
segments; insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and bio-pesticides.
and weather forecast through its digital initiative, Drishti. Drishti
While insecticides constitute a higher proportion, fungicides and
is an ambitious and futuristic project that aims to increase the
herbicides are the fastest growing segments of the Indian crop care
preparedness of farmers in tackling adverse farming conditions by
industry.
providing them hyper-customised information. Initiative Drishti is still
In FY 2017-18, India’s crop protection industry faced a difficult at a nascent stage of development, but holds a promise in helping
situation. Raw material prices skyrocketed due to rising crude oil farmers improve farm productivity in a big way. Samadhan is a mobile
prices. Further, supply constraints emanating from the shut-down app offered to farmers, which provides live weather and mandi prices,
in China on pollution concerns of industries supplying raw materials customised and dynamic Package of Practices (PoPs), direct access to
to the agrochem manufacturers affected India’s agrochem industry. Rallis’ helpline for problem resolution and allows farmers’ groups to
Lower realisations in many crops in FY 2016-17 due to an over-supply share experiences. To enable larger use of the digital platforms, the
situation and softening of prices affected farm incomes; this, in turn, services are available in 12 regional languages. There are 14 dedicated
influenced farmers’ spending ability in FY 2017-18. Going forward, points to handle customer queries. Rallis also uses Sampark, a mobile
app for the frontline field force.
Management Discussion and Analysis 97