Agri input companies post single-digit growth in Q4 on weak Rabi season

With hardly any water left for crop irrigation and human consumption in Maharashtra and other agrarian states, farmers and agronomists pin hopes on the normal rainfall forecast of IMD for 2019 monsoon

Agri input companies posted single-digit growth in the March quarter due to erratic rainfall, low water availability, and high channel inventory in the 2018 rabi sowing season.

During last year’s monsoon season, though the long period average (LPA) rainfall for the entire country was reported to be normal at 94 per cent, yet, agrarian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Telangana received below-normal rainfall. Being big markets, low rainfall in these states had impacted business of agri inputs like agro chemicals, pesticides, and seeds.

Consequently, sales and Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins of agri input companies were