Israeli farm company to expand operations in India

Hyderabad, Dec 8: Israel's ADAMA Agricultural Solutions, a global leader in providing comprehensive crop protection solutions, plans to invest $50 million more in India in the next three to four years in distribution network and research and development, a company official said. The company - formerly known as Makhteshim-Agan - with global sales of $3.1 billon, has already invested $50 million since it started operations in India in 2009. ADAMA president and CEO Chen Lichtenstein Monday unveiled the new brand name and logo, which brought more than 40 brands of the company across the globe under a single name. ADAMA India president and CEO Yossi Goldshmidt and other members of the management were also present. ADAMA has a research and development centre in Hyderabad, which is the only one of its kind outside Israel. He described Israel, China and India as three key markets. The over 60-year-old company is the seventh largest agro-chemical firm in the world and the No.1 manufacturer and distributor of branded off-patent crop protection products. It is the third largest agro-chemical company in India, with CAGR of 30 percent as against the sector's CAGR of 9-10 percent.