Proagro to strengthen presence in cotton seed mkt

Proagro Seed Company Private Limited, a Bayer CropScience group company, is rapidly expanding its presence in the cotton seed market in Karnataka.

The company, which introduced SurPass Minerva, its hybrid cotton seed in the state in 2003, has already emerged as a preferred supplier of hybrid cotton seeds in the state.

The company, which sold 7,000 packets in the state in 2005, is expected to sell 50,000 packets (each packet is 450 gm) of hybrid cotton seeds this year.

Of this, nearly 40,000 packets are likely to be sold in Mysore district alone, where it has captured most of the market. Almost 90 per cent of the district's requirement is being met by the company, J Abraham Anand, marketing manager, Proagro Seed Company said.

"In a short span of three years, we have established SurPass Minerva as the most preferred brand of hybrid cotton seed in the state. We are now on our way to gain a major market share in the extra- long staple segment," Anand told Business Standard.

The company's brand has been recognised by the government of Karnataka and it has been included in its subsidy programme. SurPass Minerva is a late entrant in the hybrid cotton seed market in Karnataka.

It matures in 180 days giving a high yield with an extra-long staple length of 34 mm and good fibre quality, which is particularly popular with the farmers of Belgaum, Hubli, Dharwad, Hassan and Mysore, he claimed.

The brand delivers an average yield of 8-10 quintals of cotton per acre, while it can go up to as high as 15-16 quintals per acre if there is better crop management. This cotton fetches an average price of Rs 5,000 per quintal as against Rs 2,000 per quintal for other cotton in the market, Anand claimed.

Presently, the company has captured 7-8 per cent of the hybrid cotton market and aims to raise it to 16 per cent this year. Nearly 5.6 million acres area is under cultivation for cotton in India.

Anand said that Proagro is presently working on developing three new seeds for the Indian market at its Hyderabad R&D centre, which will be launched next year. The company spends 15 per cent of its turnover on R&D annually. Proagro also sells other seed varieties like Dhanno, Goldmine, 144BT, 368BT in the state.

During 2005, Proagro's seed division reported a turnover of Rs 106 crore. It aims to increase it to Rs 150 crore during the present year.

While the cotton seed sales is expected to go up to Rs 30 crore this year as against Rs 18 crore last year.