Rallis India Limited — Q4 FY26

Rallis India Ltd Q4 FY2025-26 Earnings Conference Call https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m7hBlB9oMI Published: 2 weeks ago

0:00 Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Ralis India Limited Q4 and FI26 earnings conference call. We have 0:08 8 seconds with us today Dr. Ganindra Shukla, managing director and CEO and Mr. Baska Swami Natan, Chief Financial Officer. 0:17 17 seconds Before we begin, I would like to mention that some of the statements made in today's discussion may be forward-looking in nature and may involve risks and uncertaintities. A 0:26 26 seconds detailed statement in this regard is available in the results presentation. 0:30 30 seconds As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation 0:37 37 seconds concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then bin zero on your touchstone phone. 0:44 44 seconds Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now invite Dr. Shukla to begin the proceedings of the call. 0:51 51 seconds Please go ahead. 0:54 54 seconds Uh thanks. Uh good morning everyone and uh uh for joining us today on Rallis 1:00 1 minute India Limited Q4 and Fiscal 26 earnings call. As mentioned I have alongside myself our CFO Mr. Baskar Sabinatan. 1:11 1 minute, 11 seconds Good morning everyone. 1:13 1 minute, 13 seconds I'll open uh with an overview of the industry landscape before addressing developments specific to rallies. 1:20 1 minute, 20 seconds The Indian agrochemical sector is currently transitioning from a buyers to a sellers market due to war induced supply constraint and rising prices. 1:30 1 minute, 30 seconds Post Iran war the industry shifted to a sellers market with signs of panic buying and hoarding. Supply chain 1:36 1 minute, 36 seconds disruptions persist but inventories help most companies avoid damage. 1:43 1 minute, 43 seconds Angrochemicals particularly glyphosate uh uh is facing sorry for interrupting speakers your voice is breaking 1:52 1 minute, 52 seconds pass through in China supply chain disruptions amid global tensions the prices of other generic AI like 1:58 1 minute, 58 seconds gluosinate mango metroin uh stabbler and fungicides pythroidid c etc and near-term cost inflation and wave likely 2:07 2 minutes, 7 seconds to compress down stream margins quarter 4 is typically slow for the domestic market uh of agrochemicals. In addition, 2:14 2 minutes, 14 seconds the ruby season has not gone well owing to the unfavorable climate. As per the official data, the unseasonal rain and hilly storms have damaged the we crop 2:22 2 minutes, 22 seconds grass uh to 2,000 hectares with wheat suffering the maximum impact. At the end of March 26, summer sewing is 2:31 2 minutes, 31 seconds progressing at a slower pace down 4.7% yearon year primarily driven by decline in rice uh cereals and oil seeds. Within 2:40 2 minutes, 40 seconds cereals, bajra sewing has improved by about 9% while maj has declined by about 2:47 2 minutes, 47 seconds 8% in all seed ground nuts sewing is significantly lower down by 12.7%. 2:57 2 minutes, 57 seconds Alth is a bright spot with total area rising by 17%. 3:03 3 minutes, 3 seconds AMD's 2026 monsoon 4 at 90% of the PA signals normal raining agreemental effects like ag rise in new odds uh 3:12 3 minutes, 12 seconds drive early deficit in north and central and western India and which are uh key sewing areas while south and east may 3:19 3 minutes, 19 seconds see a relative uh better monsoon well distributed precipitation during key sewing windows can partly oxid deficits 3:26 3 minutes, 26 seconds whereas erratic patterns such as prolonged dry spells or excessive concentration tend to be more disruptive uh erratic patterns risk 5 to 10% demand 3:36 3 minutes, 36 seconds cut for herbicides and insecticides in integrated firms with balanced portfolios of seed crop protection and 3:43 3 minutes, 43 seconds soil and plant health tend to uh face uh know less impact expanding irrigation 3:50 3 minutes, 50 seconds coverage to 55% of the rail land has notably reduced monzone dependence on key crops for India and also on the rural diversification and into dairy 3:59 3 minutes, 59 seconds poultry and allied sectors now contribute utes roughly 1/4 of the income for households providing a structural uh buffer against rainfall deficits. 4:08 4 minutes, 8 seconds Uh the MSP uh framework key indicator for uh uh karif 2526 is broadly supportive for oil seeds, pulses, 4:16 4 minutes, 16 seconds millets and cotton. While the hike in patt is relatively modest from from the agrochemical and seed industry perspective, this is uh positive for 4:24 4 minutes, 24 seconds crops such as cotton, soybean, ground nut, mage, pulses and millets. uh provided monsoon distribution and reservoir reservoir levels remain 4:32 4 minutes, 32 seconds supportive. Uh sector agriculture sector may see a 3 to 4% growth in fiscal year 27. Uh seeds category uh remain a 4:41 4 minutes, 41 seconds structural 5 to 10% kear story depending on the portfolio of the companies volumes might in uh shrink due to less 4:50 4 minutes, 50 seconds acreages but margins are expected to remain stable to soft. The market should favor lowcost producers with export 4:57 4 minutes, 57 seconds breadth and tight working capital disciplines. The near-term outlook remains contingent on the evolution of Middle East conflict while healthy reser 5:05 5 minutes, 5 seconds level levels of approximately 54% are supportive for ongoing season reduce acreage and forecast of below monsoon 5:13 5 minutes, 13 seconds rainfall could possibly uh pose some risk. India's uh FCO 2026. This was a 5:21 5 minutes, 21 seconds key bill which was you know brought to uh regulate the biominent fertilizer uh standardizing humic acid and seaweed 5:29 5 minutes, 29 seconds formulations thereby improving product reliability and regulatory clarity. I think this is very good positive development for the long term. The 5:37 5 minutes, 37 seconds global crop protection market estimated at approximately 70 to75 billion dollar in 2026 and is projected to grow at a 5:45 5 minutes, 45 seconds kar of 5 to 5 and a half% supported by rising food demand limited arable land and uh need to improve farm productivity. 5:55 5 minutes, 55 seconds On supply side, the globally China linked supply concentration remains a key issue, especially for active ingredients and intermediates where 6:02 6 minutes, 2 seconds export restrictions, price shifts or freight disruptions can quickly affect availability and cost. Elevated raw material and logistics costs continue to 6:10 6 minutes, 10 seconds pressure manufacturers. While global weather uncertaintity and changing crop patterns, added demand volatility. 6:16 6 minutes, 16 seconds Global recovery in this sector is visible but unevent. US demand is supportive. Brazil is weak. Uh China pricing pressure remains a key concern. 6:25 6 minutes, 25 seconds India's rising stock rice stock position remains strong but the latest uh report 6:32 6 minutes, 32 seconds uh was does not indicate uh uh any fresh increase from March to April. Global rice stocks have increased including a 6:41 6 minutes, 41 seconds comfortable supply switches and a possible pressure on global rice prices. 6:46 6 minutes, 46 seconds So that's a global overview. Uh moving on to rallies specific developments. We had a reasonable quarter 4 uh 6:53 6 minutes, 53 seconds performance despite short rubby season and geopolitical unrest. Our quarter 4 revenue stood at 456 cr versus 43 cr 7:01 7 minutes, 1 second previous year. IDA improved by 96% from uh uh to -1 cr from -9 cr in Q4 fiscal 7:08 7 minutes, 8 seconds year 25. Uh profit after taxes stood at -5 cr versus - 32 cr of quarter 4 fiscal 7:17 7 minutes, 17 seconds year 25. Exceptional items include the profit on the sale of some property uh land for worth three cr in Orangabad. 7:26 7 minutes, 26 seconds Across the technical portfolio, we are continuously broadening our customer base and securing additional registration with global players to 7:34 7 minutes, 34 seconds drive share gains. And Metropines uh the volumes have decreased in quarter 4 in comparison to quarter 25 volumes. 7:42 7 minutes, 42 seconds Pendleene volumes have increased. 7:44 7 minutes, 44 seconds Hexacon volume also have increased and there has been some decrease in the SF8 volume. So Pendi and Hexa has done 7:52 7 minutes, 52 seconds overall well. There's some shrinkage of volume in METRI and SF8. Overall annual capacity utilization has improved in fiscal year 26 compared to 25. 8:02 8 minutes, 2 seconds On new launches, we have currently launched alster a dual xenomin granular insecticide and fiplan which last year uh we had announced but we were not able 8:11 8 minutes, 11 seconds to launch because of some quality constraint. Uh it has been launched now it will help in managing both uh say broad spectrum insecticide to manage 8:19 8 minutes, 19 seconds both succin and chewing pest. We have also obtained registration for a three-way rice herbicide uh and and in 8:27 8 minutes, 27 seconds past I've been talking about growing herbicide segment. So this is adent to that uh uh uh it'll be called a spyro. 8:35 8 minutes, 35 seconds We are working on the launch plan. 8:38 8 minutes, 38 seconds In Q4 we had launched an initiative called idea to impact to establish an open open innovation system to source 8:45 8 minutes, 45 seconds validate and commercialize uh agree innovations. Uh we have also launched suction a GIS platform which enables 8:54 8 minutes, 54 seconds scientific identification of high potential villages for target market expansion. On our new initiative, Serark 9:01 9 minutes, 1 second Plus uh captures farmer level demands signal to generate actionable insights and improve sales conversion and move 9:10 9 minutes, 10 seconds inventory as needed. We're also using tech assisted products and generate 9:17 9 minutes, 17 seconds demand digital field AB band campaigns farmer and retailer level digital schemes and enrollment of retail retailers on Anuban platforms. All these 9:26 9 minutes, 26 seconds platform digriven uh this is all for deliverable across uh centricity goals as well as you know retailer and uh 9:35 9 minutes, 35 seconds distribution connect as a result of improved manufacturing efficiency and operational excellence. Rallis has uh 9:42 9 minutes, 42 seconds achieved record production levels we have enabled digital engagement that is strengthens datadriven decision making 9:49 9 minutes, 49 seconds and enhances farmer outreach and our advisory productivity. We are also shifting towards high margin sustainable and pharmaceentric offerings including biological and next generation product. 10:00 10 minutes Uh that concludes my opening remark. 10:02 10 minutes, 2 seconds I'll now hand it over to Mr. Basker our CFO for a detailed analysis of the financial situation. Over to you Bas. 10:10 10 minutes, 10 seconds Thank you Dr. Janindra. Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us today for our Q4 and FY26 earnings call. 10:16 10 minutes, 16 seconds I'll walk you through our financial performance for the quarter post which we shall commence on the Q&A session. 10:22 10 minutes, 22 seconds Starting with the top line for the year, our Q4 FY26 revenue stood at rupees 456 crores as against rupes 430 crores for 10:30 10 minutes, 30 seconds the same period last year resulting in an overall growth of 6%. Overall volume growth has been 5% with pricing uh 10:38 10 minutes, 38 seconds growth by 1%. Overall evita for Q4 FI26 stood at rupees -1 cr higher by 96 10:46 10 minutes, 46 seconds compared to last year of uh negative 19 crores of the same uh quarter. 10:53 10 minutes, 53 seconds Uh profit after tax uh stood at 15 cr versus 32 cr of Q4 last year which is 11:01 11 minutes, 1 second 52% higher than the previous year same quarter. Crop care segment grew by 5% to rupees 425 crores in Q4 FY26 from rupees 11:10 11 minutes, 10 seconds 405 crores in Q4 FY25 due to volume expansion new product promotion and increased digital engagement. Moving to 11:18 11 minutes, 18 seconds domestic B2C, a 15% growth in Q4 FI26 registering rupees 255 cr revenue with V rups 222 11:28 11 minutes, 28 seconds growth in Q4 FI25 which was driven by volume growth of 14% primarily led by IN6 11:35 11 minutes, 35 seconds soil and plant health category grew by 27% to rupees 47 cr from rupes 37 cr in 11:42 11 minutes, 42 seconds Q4 of FY26 in comparison to Q4 FY25 It registered a robust volume growth of 11:50 11 minutes, 50 seconds 29%. The volume impact is due to growth in micronutrients and bio fertilizer. 11:56 11 minutes, 56 seconds Moving to seeds business, seeds revenue grew by 23% to rupees 31 cr in Q4 FY26 12:03 12 minutes, 3 seconds from rupees 25 cr in Q4 FY25 due to 8% volume growth and 15% price growth mainly driven by cotton and millet. 12:12 12 minutes, 12 seconds Export topline deg grew by 33% to rupees 77 cr from 114 cr due to deg growth in 12:20 12 minutes, 20 seconds volumes and revenue for a metric business in pending retailing. 12:25 12 minutes, 25 seconds uh CSM products, custom synthesis manufactured products uh in Q4 FY26 revenue displayed promising growth by 12:32 12 minutes, 32 seconds lodging 15% growth to rupees 66 cr from rupes 41 cr of last year driven by both 12:40 12 minutes, 40 seconds volume and price growth. The revenue stood at rupes 170 cr versus rups 182 cr with a decline of 7% primarily to due to volumes. 12:50 12 minutes, 50 seconds For the full financial year period, topline revenue stood at rupes 2,897 cr reflecting a growth of 9% yearonear. 12:59 12 minutes, 59 seconds Crop care revenue stood at rupees 2,416 cr reflecting 8% growth year on year 13:06 13 minutes, 6 seconds driven by volume expansion despite price of softening and seeds revenue increased to rupees 13:13 13 minutes, 13 seconds 481 cr delivering 15% growth year on year supported by cotton and maze along with improved contribution from inlicens 13:21 13 minutes, 21 seconds project in uh products the B2C business recorded growth of 5% delivering rups,657 13:28 13 minutes, 28 seconds 37 cr revenue primarily contributed by 9% volume growth. The B2B business 13:35 13 minutes, 35 seconds recorded growth of 14% delivering rupees 759 cr of revenue supported by both volume and price uh price growth and 13:43 13 minutes, 43 seconds expansion of the customer base. In the crop segment, expansion of our customer base and product portfolio is enhancing business resilience. We are driving 13:52 13 minutes, 52 seconds focused execution across frontline and operational functions by optimizing the product portfolio. rationalizing territories, eliminating overlaps and 14:01 14 minutes, 1 second simplifying costs across the value chain. In the seed segment, our primary focus will be on five strategy crops, cotton, maze, millet, mustard and rice. 14:11 14 minutes, 11 seconds A selective and concentrated approach in these crops is expected to drive operational scale and efficiency. 14:18 14 minutes, 18 seconds Overall, we remain disciplined in improving capital efficiency across both fixed capital and working capital. At the quarter end, our inventory levels 14:26 14 minutes, 26 seconds remain slightly elevated in comparison to the same quarter of last year. 14:29 14 minutes, 29 seconds Collection cycles remain smooth. We have healthy cash and liquid balance of rupees 541 crores as at 31st March 2026. 14:38 14 minutes, 38 seconds Our continuous approach towards improving digital initiatives is helping us reach targeted customer groups with greater momentum. In parallel, we are 14:46 14 minutes, 46 seconds undertaking portfolio rationalization and sharpening our focus on priority markets to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen market presence 14:55 14 minutes, 55 seconds and improve profitability. Thereby we remain committed to achieving consistent and profitable growth. That concludes 15:03 15 minutes, 3 seconds our opening remarks. We can now commence the Q&A session. 15:08 15 minutes, 8 seconds Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on your touchstone telephone. If 15:17 15 minutes, 17 seconds you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies 15:25 15 minutes, 25 seconds and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question assembles. 15:32 15 minutes, 32 seconds The first question comes from the line of Prashant Bani with Capital 3. Yeah, thank you for the opportunity sir. 15:39 15 minutes, 39 seconds The first three bullet points of your commentary on slide 12 portrays a very pessimistic scenario but your performance uh was pretty contrary to 15:48 15 minutes, 48 seconds that and I just wanted to know especially on the gross margin part what drove healthy margin improvement uh at the gross margin level. 15:58 15 minutes, 58 seconds So I I I think you know uh when we put a commentary uh it is based on what was happening in 16:05 16 minutes, 5 seconds the market right. So so you know uh last year we started with a very heavy early 16:12 16 minutes, 12 seconds rainfall that impacted uh herbicide uses in crops like soybean and cotton. So that was a big impact. uh then we came 16:21 16 minutes, 21 seconds to uh end of karib season massive rain led to decline in consumption of insecticide and as you move forward 16:29 16 minutes, 29 seconds towards rai actually rain suddenly stopped in September and as a result there was impact on pest disease 16:37 16 minutes, 37 seconds pressure and all. So if you see the context of overall year development has been a little bit choppy. So it indicates that uh nothing else. Having 16:46 16 minutes, 46 seconds said that I think you know our focus is to uh those events will continue to happen. How do we move forward and better deliver better performance uh in 16:54 16 minutes, 54 seconds in on ongoing basis. Now gross margin obviously uh is a combination of uh uh 17:01 17 minutes, 1 second our ability uh so so two things you know uh so I mean again it's a segment by segment I think our contribution in seed 17:08 17 minutes, 8 seconds and soil and plant health business continues to remain robust when we say crop protection as a category there's always a mix of product and uh you might 17:17 17 minutes, 17 seconds if anyone of you might remember I've been talking about two troubled child for us no clto and benchilla right so so 17:24 17 minutes, 24 seconds we are trying to actually liquidated that inventory. I think they're done with majority of it. Uh that led to compression of margin in portal 4 17:34 17 minutes, 34 seconds because we had to liquidate that inventory. We just cannot keep it otherwise it becomes a write off. 17:41 17 minutes, 41 seconds Uh sir, I meant uh so sorry you meant that these two products uh inventory was liquidated before Q4 or during Q4? 17:51 17 minutes, 51 seconds No, during Q4. 17:54 17 minutes, 54 seconds But uh we uh delivered a uh decent margin expansion at the gross level. So you're looking at it right? 18:04 18 minutes, 4 seconds No, I'm I'm looking at Q4 specifically on growth. 18:07 18 minutes, 7 seconds Q4 from the perspective of crop protection or seed? 18:11 18 minutes, 11 seconds Both seeds I mean is a small thing only mainly on the uh crop care side. 18:23 18 minutes, 23 seconds So, so look uh I I think margin expansion if you see from what I know our CSM business delivered higher margin 18:32 18 minutes, 32 seconds because we had a contract though it is a smaller business but there is a clause where we can actually uh get some 18:39 18 minutes, 39 seconds benefit if volumes drop below certain threshold so that helped PH business was uh slightly better overall B2B business 18:47 18 minutes, 47 seconds exports were better seed was better so that that's what is reflected in our numbers on a crop protection is standalone basis. It was marginally down because 18:55 18 minutes, 55 seconds you know B2C business because of Benela and plasto. 18:59 18 minutes, 59 seconds Okay. Uh sir how are you seeing the initial demand for curry? 19:04 19 minutes, 4 seconds So uh two things are happening. I I think right now uh everybody has gone into a wait and watch mode. 19:14 19 minutes, 14 seconds Uh first of all the rainfall no alino impact nobody knows. Uh the other thing 19:21 19 minutes, 21 seconds which is know people are looking at how government will be able to mop up sufficient fertilizer. Uh these two factors might have some and then third 19:30 19 minutes, 30 seconds one is always commodity prices right. So rainfall pattern, commodity prices and fertilizer these three factors will 19:38 19 minutes, 38 seconds determine uh to what extent farmer will plant what uh we when we plan our business we plan 19:45 19 minutes, 45 seconds on a normal basis because I I believe each three factors you know for example I believe that if farmers get 10% less 19:53 19 minutes, 53 seconds ura it will not impact the yield because farmers are used to using high ura because highly subsidized more than ura phosphorus potass are going to be more 20:02 20 minutes, 2 seconds critical When it comes to rain, there's a forecast of 8% less rain over LPA, but again that 8 there have been instances 20:11 20 minutes, 11 seconds where rainfall has been 8% lower or even uh much lower. But distribution was good and it arrived timely. So as a result it 20:20 20 minutes, 20 seconds didn't have much negative impact. So, so I I think a lot of unknowns uh and war led prochemical know disruption supply 20:29 20 minutes, 29 seconds chain or solvents know energy cost everybody increasing the prices of raw material all of that when you factor in it is very very difficult to put a 20:38 20 minutes, 38 seconds finger and say look what will happen uh what we are trying to see is that historically you know in in I mean my 20:47 20 minutes, 47 seconds agriculture lifetime experience in 40 years there have been two worst droughts s even then area zone does not go below 20:56 20 minutes, 56 seconds 85 95 even 90 even 90%. So farmers will plant something. They might make different choices. They might also down trade on the the kind of seed they buy. 21:07 21 minutes, 7 seconds They may not buy very premium seed. They might reduce some fertilizer consumption. And unless they expect a good income, they may they may opt for 21:16 21 minutes, 16 seconds lower cost crop protection product versus high cost crop crop protection product. So uh it's too difficult to say 21:23 21 minutes, 23 seconds from our perspective. We're trying to secure as much as possible supply for karif and we'll also seek opportunities to pass on at least cost increase. 21:34 21 minutes, 34 seconds Uh sir just lastly sir uh our crop B2C business uh growth was driven by insecticides. Sir why would uh 21:43 21 minutes, 43 seconds insecticide sales uh grow this much when you know there is a this would be a 21:50 21 minutes, 50 seconds herbicide placement uh season. So I mean so let me tell you placement I think first of all we have not gone for any uh 21:57 21 minutes, 57 seconds significant placement more than what is required in quarter 4 because uh some of this was low cost inventory and we would like to sell in quarter one because 22:06 22 minutes, 6 seconds there's an opportunity to realize higher price uh and you know so so but I mean I keep saying that look don't look at our 22:14 22 minutes, 14 seconds business on a quarterly basis now that's not the right way always look at our business on H1 basis H2 basis so if you 22:21 22 minutes, 21 seconds say H1 story I was telling no H1 if you see our business actually the leading growth had come from fungicide and 22:30 22 minutes, 30 seconds herbicide and in H1 because of August September rain insecticide uses had dropped as a result uh insecticide 22:38 22 minutes, 38 seconds business had declined come to H2 actually our herbicide and insecticide have done better right whereas fungicide 22:45 22 minutes, 45 seconds has slightly gone down because there's a driver lesser diseases but on a yearly basis I would say we are slightly down on insecticide uh because of the impact 22:54 22 minutes, 54 seconds which got created in H1. We are up on fungicide and we are significantly higher on herbicide. So on a yearly 23:01 23 minutes, 1 second basis our herbicide business is up by 15%, fungicide by 5% and insecticide is down by 3%. That means B2C business has gone by 4% overall. 23:14 23 minutes, 14 seconds Okay sir, thank you so much for your time and all the best. Thank you. 23:21 23 minutes, 21 seconds Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Ankur Fual Access Capital please. 23:28 23 minutes, 28 seconds Uh yeah hi sir thanks for the opportunity. Uh now my first question on the the seeds business there. Uh so you 23:35 23 minutes, 35 seconds know if I look at not quarterly but let's say on an annual basis we have done reasonably well this year u along with uh some sort of you know stability 23:44 23 minutes, 44 seconds or improvement coming in the AITA margin as well. uh given your commentary of focusing on those key five crops uh how 23:52 23 minutes, 52 seconds do you look at growth or ramp up in this business over the next uh two to three years there have been you know issues of lower inventory earlier uh but despite 24:01 24 minutes, 1 second that we are seeing uh some margin uptake possibly because of better pricing so your thoughts on one uh volume growth pricing growth and margin out for this 24:09 24 minutes, 9 seconds business right so so I I think know in one statement I can say pricing across the board will uh will be higher because 24:18 24 minutes, 18 seconds when you have to when commodity prices go up we have to compensate more to the growers and that has to be know we have to figure out a way to continuously increase the price. 24:29 24 minutes, 29 seconds Now when it comes to yearly uh construct of the seed business to me uh four crops are more important cotton rice maze and 24:38 24 minutes, 38 seconds millet and each one of those crops actually had delivered growth last year. 24:43 24 minutes, 43 seconds Cotton in fact had grown by almost 35% mage had grown by 20% millet growth was 24:49 24 minutes, 49 seconds 8% and there was a m a small growth in rice because rice seed was availability was a challenge 24:57 24 minutes, 57 seconds now when I uh uh look forward I think cotton probably this year again will deliver highest growth followed by maze 25:06 25 minutes, 6 seconds and rice and then millet millet because of the limited area in fact millet might surprise us in a less less rainfall area 25:12 25 minutes, 12 seconds sometimes my area also goes up. So that's how I see it. So I expect a combination of price and volume growth 25:20 25 minutes, 20 seconds and know expecting to deliver you know high double digit growth again this year. 25:26 25 minutes, 26 seconds Uh sir just one followup high double digit is a volutric growth that you're looking at or it includes the pricing also? 25:33 25 minutes, 33 seconds It's a it's a combination of volume and price. 25:38 25 minutes, 38 seconds Okay. Sure. And on the margins front, should we expect to sustain these margins or maybe even improve given the realization in COVID? 25:48 25 minutes, 48 seconds I I I cannot predict that. But obviously effort is know when your business grows know cost should not grow in the same 25:56 25 minutes, 56 seconds proportion that should have positive impact on the margin. But in seed for example last year we suffered uh because 26:02 26 minutes, 2 seconds we have to pay a higher prices uh uh for drying and processing and all. U this 26:09 26 minutes, 9 seconds year you know there is a other phenomena seen crop was on time by everybody else and harvest came at the same time. As a 26:16 26 minutes, 16 seconds result there was a certain uh capacity constraint for dryers which is a primarily third party activity. As a result, companies have to pay 26:25 26 minutes, 25 seconds incremental cost per drying in the patty know open field. When you dry in the open field, what we call pad drying, it 26:32 26 minutes, 32 seconds also sometimes can lead to lesser recovery. So, so all of those factors are not known known yet. I think we are 26:38 26 minutes, 38 seconds in the process of preparing for uh karif and inventory and costing and everything probably will be known know towards end 26:47 26 minutes, 47 seconds of the quarter and how season fares from a consumption perspective is only known when first half is over. 26:55 26 minutes, 55 seconds Uh sure sir. Uh second bit on the the crop care side uh you know if you can share your thoughts and comments on you 27:02 27 minutes, 2 seconds know the specific products SF8 mi metane etc. you know how how is the macro behaving especially you know given the 27:09 27 minutes, 9 seconds the supply chain voluntaryly globally as well both on capacity as well as on the front. Thanks. 27:16 27 minutes, 16 seconds So so I think as far as domestic branded business is concerned availability is not a constraint. Uh we are okay. 27:24 27 minutes, 24 seconds Now when it comes to our export business I think there are uh four primary molecule we deal uh pendimethylin 27:32 27 minutes, 32 seconds hexaconazole uh uh esipair and metroben uh I continue to remain positive on 27:39 27 minutes, 39 seconds metrobenin and pendimethylin and hexaconazole uh there's a structural challenge on sfade side because uh the 27:48 27 minutes, 48 seconds same people those who supply us raw material they compete us with us in the American markets so as a result there's always a challenge you know uh to supply 27:57 27 minutes, 57 seconds those markets. Having said that uh given some supply challenges also we are trying to prioritize domestic market for 28:05 28 minutes, 5 seconds a product like SF8 and trying to balance it not lose the customer at the same time see where we are going to be able will be making more money. There are 28:14 28 minutes, 14 seconds other products like metal XLM we make choxim choxim methile we make those are relatively smaller product. 28:23 28 minutes, 23 seconds Sure sir. Uh that's helpful. I'll get back into the queue. Thank you and all the best. 28:30 28 minutes, 30 seconds Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Vira with simple. Please go ahead. 28:35 28 minutes, 35 seconds Yeah just couple of questions. Uh first is just to clarify you said the standalone B2C gross margin has softened 28:42 28 minutes, 42 seconds in the quarter and whatever increase uh we have seen on a console basis is a mix of B2B uh exports and seats. Am I right? 28:55 28 minutes, 55 seconds Yes. 28:56 28 minutes, 56 seconds Okay. And and also with regards to the double Yeah. just Q4 and with regards to the healthy volume growth which we saw 29:04 29 minutes, 4 seconds in B2C uh in the quarter gone by that would also be largely a function of the placement we would be doing for 29:13 29 minutes, 13 seconds insecticides or maybe for the uh you know bio stimulants uh uh for the upcoming quarter. Would that also be a right understanding? 29:25 29 minutes, 25 seconds Now actually uh contrary to what we should have done we have not done that we have been very conservative on 29:32 29 minutes, 32 seconds replacing the stock right so we have only sold what is required because uh as as the sentiments change we might have 29:40 29 minutes, 40 seconds an opportunity to have higher realization as a result we haven't aggressively push the stocks okay any color you can give in terms of 29:48 29 minutes, 48 seconds the inventory in the system for the market. 29:56 29 minutes, 56 seconds So uh look at this point of time if you go to the market uh while it seems challenging environment but every 30:04 30 minutes, 4 seconds product is available uh right and we haven't seen any early sign of price increase because 30:11 30 minutes, 11 seconds consumption has not begun yet right except the cotton seed where probably in northern India we're midway in the season some of the fossil we sell 30:18 30 minutes, 18 seconds quantity we're in season so it's too early to predict but yes on seed The cotton prices were not increased by the 30:26 30 minutes, 26 seconds government. So they remain flat. Uh so we have to rely on volume and cotton is going to be roughly 20 25% of our 30:34 30 minutes, 34 seconds projected cotton seed business. So from that perspective no price increase. All the price increase opportunities will come in rice maze and millet. Cotton is 30:44 30 minutes, 44 seconds primarily a volume game. uh uh the same way crop protection I think know because of rain and all know so so yes companies 30:53 30 minutes, 53 seconds do place some the normal inventory we haven't done anything beyond normal inventory I meant for the crop protection for the 31:01 31 minutes, 1 second industry not specific to us any color you have on the you can give on the inventory in the system because you know 31:08 31 minutes, 8 seconds even Q2 was bad and has not been that great so uh you know uh any color you can give in terms of of the inventory in the system. 31:20 31 minutes, 20 seconds So I I think inventory has come to normal level. I mean 2 years ago this whole industry was suffering from lot of in inventory hangover. I think that has reached to a normal level now. 31:32 31 minutes, 32 seconds Now obviously I don't have company by company detail. I don't have insight into other companies but uh the there are enough indicators uh in the uh 31:41 31 minutes, 41 seconds system to say people have inventory what they need. they they're not carrying forward lot of excess inventory. 31:47 31 minutes, 47 seconds Okay. No, because where I was coming from is as you alluded in this earlier part of the call as well is that you know any cost increase which we are 31:55 31 minutes, 55 seconds witnessing right now we'll be looking at opportunity to pass through. So in that sense you know especially on the Zenic piece you know uh just understand the 32:03 32 minutes, 3 seconds factors we are you know looking internally which gives us confidence that we'll be able to pass on. Yeah, we are one of the first ones to announce price 32:12 32 minutes, 12 seconds increase because we cannot absorb all the cost. 32:16 32 minutes, 16 seconds Uh because season consumption season has not yet begun. So it's very very difficult to say how market will behave. 32:24 32 minutes, 24 seconds But every company is kind of indicating you know they have to pass on cost increase otherwise they will all become they'll know they'll face a very challenging time. 32:36 32 minutes, 36 seconds Okay. And last question was on the exports or the B2B fields. Uh any update into the pipeline into the new molecules 32:43 32 minutes, 43 seconds which we are commercialized or looking to commercialize. 32:47 32 minutes, 47 seconds So uh current year so last year we did start making there's a molecule called pensicuron. Uh besides that when that 32:56 32 minutes, 56 seconds happened in the last quarter uh I think we'll still rely on old molecule. There are two three new molecules. So we have 33:04 33 minutes, 4 seconds narrowed down the list which used to work. Now we've got about three molecules which should get introduced in next two to three years. Uh we are in 33:11 33 minutes, 11 seconds the advanced stages of know establishing processes know working with the supp uh know uh what do you call buyers and 33:20 33 minutes, 20 seconds obviously there's a registration process that has to happen parallelly. Okay thank you. 33:29 33 minutes, 29 seconds Thanks thank you. Next question comes from the line of sort of jen with HSBC. Please go. Thank you for the opportunity. 33:37 33 minutes, 37 seconds Yes sir. 33:38 33 minutes, 38 seconds First question. My first question is can you please give us Mr. J. Sorry for interrupting. You sound uh little lower. Can you uh speak a little louder please? 33:48 33 minutes, 48 seconds Uh I'm saying can you give us some sense on how is the trends you're looking at in April across all the three businesses in terms of you know volume growth and maybe some sense on the pricing. 34:02 34 minutes, 2 seconds So uh if you say April, April basically uh some season for tea gardens starts in 34:12 34 minutes, 12 seconds the northeastern side. Uh that is from a consumption perspective is normal. Uh apple season seems to be normal across Himachel and Jamu. 34:22 34 minutes, 22 seconds Uh then you have cotton season which begins in north for seed. This is a low crop protection month and low ph month 34:30 34 minutes, 30 seconds right because all of that will start with the rains when they start coming in the month of know end of May in Kerala 34:36 34 minutes, 36 seconds and pre-monsoon s uh some some places it happens so it's too early to predict that but I guess you know as I was 34:44 34 minutes, 44 seconds saying farmers will plant the crop even in the worst monsoon years we haven't seen acreages dropping I think what farmers do start doing in downtrading 34:53 34 minutes, 53 seconds right uh so they might use less s price, they might surprise seed. In some cases, they might go for saved seed. All of 35:01 35 minutes, 1 second that happens. Uh given the uncertaintity uh around rain and commodity prices and 35:08 35 minutes, 8 seconds everything else. Uh seed indication, I think we'll have a fair fair seed indication by end of May. Uh in terms of 35:17 35 minutes, 17 seconds sentiments towards crop, crop protection, I think is very very difficult to predict any trend before end of May or early June. 35:26 35 minutes, 26 seconds And what about the global trends? 35:28 35 minutes, 28 seconds Because uh you earlier alluded to to the fact that there is some sort of you know panic buying that is being set in. Are you seeing any trends that indicate that 35:36 35 minutes, 36 seconds the trade channels are looking to fill up the products and uh volumes are moving early? 35:41 35 minutes, 41 seconds Uh not early. See look so North America is the biggest season uh where placement happens in the March right now. their 35:50 35 minutes, 50 seconds purchases would have happened in in the fourth quarter calendar year last year. 35:55 35 minutes, 55 seconds So uh I think what is important for North America is their rainfall because their agriculture is highly rainfall dependent. Uh Brazil had a decent season 36:04 36 minutes, 4 seconds not an outstanding season but global commodity prices actually still are not reflecting in the uh commodity prices 36:11 36 minutes, 11 seconds around the globe. Commodity prices continue to remain uh relatively soft uh which means uh at least word is sitting 36:19 36 minutes, 19 seconds on enough inventory of everything and have you also increased you taken some price increases in the global 36:26 36 minutes, 26 seconds portfolio everywhere I mean wherever possible know we have to increase otherwise no we'll be paying money from our pocket 36:35 36 minutes, 35 seconds understood and trying to tie this with the disruption that we are you know currently witnessing and you also mentioned that The margins in the B2B 36:42 36 minutes, 42 seconds business has improved. Would it be fair to assume that the worst of the margins are behind and with the price increases that we might undertake you know the 36:51 36 minutes, 51 seconds margins can here onwards trend on a positive side can can get better. you you know uh in last uh five seven years 37:01 37 minutes, 1 second this industry has learned a lot right uh uh so there was a covid and there was a Ukraine war and now this is new war and 37:10 37 minutes, 10 seconds every time new learning is coming right so uh during covid period everybody got engaged in the farming as a result companies did very well and supply chain 37:19 37 minutes, 19 seconds was disrupted but still material was available then came Ukraine war there was a sock of petroleum prices that subsided That'll know but that COVID 37:28 37 minutes, 28 seconds thing also led to lot of inventory buildup because one two year did well third fourth year a lot of inventory then war happens you know that has 37:35 37 minutes, 35 seconds become normal now we are dealing with a new thing right so two too frequent too many things happening and now we are also talking about alino so all all I 37:44 37 minutes, 44 seconds know is that farmers will plant the crop uh southeast monsoon based on what it looks is going going to be good Punjab 37:51 37 minutes, 51 seconds hana western up part of Rajasthan and eastern budra is all irrigated uh or get what do you call ass rainfall so the 37:59 37 minutes, 59 seconds risk is only few pockets in the country so for example Maratada Verba could be a challenge uh there could be a challenge in Sora there could be a challenge in 38:07 38 minutes, 7 seconds Royal SEMA other than that no there are pockets of challenge uh but I would say still agriculture know farmers will that's a basic thing right will happen 38:17 38 minutes, 17 seconds understood my last question input they will plant the seed sure that's helpful my last question uh at this point in time are you facing any 38:26 38 minutes, 26 seconds disruptions in terms of your procurement of raw material or technicals or very high pressing which you would believe that it'll be difficult to pass on to. 38:34 38 minutes, 34 seconds So uh there was a uh period when every company left right and center was issuing force measure letter and they said uh wait right there was a time when 38:42 38 minutes, 42 seconds they will say we are giving you a price for a quantity confirms within 3 hours otherwise after 3 hours it cannot I think all of that is over now there's a 38:50 38 minutes, 50 seconds bit of normaly uh so when this wars started I mean things looked very chaotic but there's some uh order is 39:00 39 minutes getting established yes obviously we have to pay higher for everything uh and then we have to figure out a way to see how much we can increase. Obviously, 39:07 39 minutes, 7 seconds it'll depend on what compet competitive products also do. 39:15 39 minutes, 15 seconds Yeah. Okay. So, let us see if you know this thing seems to continue more than what we earlier expected. Would you expect any disruptions in the 39:22 39 minutes, 22 seconds manufacturing in the next few critical months, month of May and June? 39:28 39 minutes, 28 seconds So uh I think as far as karif is concerned we have covered ourselves quite well. See seed is all domestic no 39:35 39 minutes, 35 seconds problem. Soil and plant health is by and large covered largely uh domestic. Uh where we have a crop protection which is 39:43 39 minutes, 43 seconds a domestic side of story. Five ingredients we produce on our own. Some of the other ingredients I know we have uh suppliers where they might want 39:52 39 minutes, 52 seconds higher price but we have secured supplies. So it's it's not a straight answer. I would say I'm covered by and large for the karif. 40:01 40 minutes, 1 second Okay. Sure. That is very helpful. It was beyond June. Right. Thank you. 40:10 40 minutes, 10 seconds Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Rohit Nagaraj with 361 Capital. Please go ahead. Hi Rohead. 40:17 40 minutes, 17 seconds Yeah. Uh yeah. Hi. Uh thanks for the opportunity. Uh so first question is uh in your opening remarks you mentioned 40:25 40 minutes, 25 seconds that uh the margins will be stable to shops and uh in terms of the cost increase we have already experienced 40:33 40 minutes, 33 seconds that the raw material cost or sourcing cost has increased we'll be passing on uh to the you know farmers by increased 40:40 40 minutes, 40 seconds prices but given that uh the monsoon is expected to be low how much ability do 40:47 40 minutes, 47 seconds we have in terms of uh increased cost completely passing on to the farmers and 40:54 40 minutes, 54 seconds secondly uh will there be any u negative impact because generally the sentiment 41:01 41 minutes, 1 second will be uh negative plus as you also explained there would be a downtrading which will also happen so I mean the 41:10 41 minutes, 10 seconds farmers may go for branded generics to the normal generics so just a broader perspective would be helpful thank you 41:17 41 minutes, 17 seconds so u so branded Generics actually helps uh rallies uh because this is where we operate. No, we we are selling generic 41:26 41 minutes, 26 seconds product. We are not an inventor company, right? 41:29 41 minutes, 29 seconds uh as far as uh planting is concerned we know that know farmers I mean as I said farmers even in the worst condition will 41:38 41 minutes, 38 seconds plant the crop and if they go for lower cost seed lower cost of uh cost lower price and priced uh product it does help 41:48 41 minutes, 48 seconds rallies both on the seed and crop protection and other category side what we don't know is uh basically uh a 41:57 41 minutes, 57 seconds fertilizer how government will be able to provide fertility result will farmers be making different choices. Government has not increased any prices for the 42:05 42 minutes, 5 seconds farmers. So all price increase currently if you see is being absorbed by the government uh and as I said look even if 10% less ura is available it actually 42:14 42 minutes, 14 seconds doesn't it will not have any serious impact on the agriculture production it might have a sentiment. So some people 42:22 42 minutes, 22 seconds think that for growing corn you need more fertilizer. So if they don't get enough ura they might say okay plant list go on but then there's a other side 42:30 42 minutes, 30 seconds of the story where know uh uh they can easily sell that for the industrial users. So it's it's it's not a straight answer. I would say let's let's let's 42:39 42 minutes, 39 seconds assume agriculture will happen there'll be cost increase and companies will have uh opportunities to pass on the cost 42:47 42 minutes, 47 seconds increase unless there's a total failure of agriculture. Monsoon doesn't come in at all in June and July. I mean that's a that has never happened in the history of no humankind. 42:57 42 minutes, 57 seconds Sure. Sure. Thanks. And just second question uh in terms of cost increases till now what is the kind of cost 43:05 43 minutes, 5 seconds increase that we have observed in percentage on we have seen 15 to 15 to 25 to 25% is generally the range. 43:16 43 minutes, 16 seconds Sure. Uh I think that is helpful. Thanks a lot and all the rest. Yeah, thank you. 43:23 43 minutes, 23 seconds Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Kan Chavla with Affirmer Capital. Please go ahead. 43:31 43 minutes, 31 seconds Hi, can you just add a clarification on the earlier question? So the 15 to 25% cost increase is on account of raw 43:38 43 minutes, 38 seconds materials and what proportion of this are we passing through versus what we're absorbing? 43:53 43 minutes, 53 seconds So, so as I said in the beginning, right now is all placement, right? Uh we have tried to pass on all we have announced 44:01 44 minutes, 1 second the price increase. I think you know everybody is working. So there's always a carryover inventory which comes from January, February, March. Uh that was 44:11 44 minutes, 11 seconds supplied at the low price. I think that will get exhausted and then new price will start getting established in the market. That's how market is start. Uh 44:20 44 minutes, 20 seconds so all the new supplies we have supplying a price or attempt to turn all the whatever but reacts. 44:31 44 minutes, 31 seconds Understood. And in terms of based on where you know how you see the market right now, how long do you expect this 44:38 44 minutes, 38 seconds 15 to 25% cost increase? Are you expecting this to populate for first half of this year? 44:46 44 minutes, 46 seconds Look, most of the karif inventory people will build by June. So for karif this 44:53 44 minutes, 53 seconds cost increase you have to assume that it has happened right is already a reality. We we cannot 45:00 45 minutes ignore that fact because uh we are sitting in May uh sorry we are getting into May now very soon and most 45:08 45 minutes, 8 seconds companies would like to procure raw material even if something has to be sold in July August and September because there's a lead time of shipping 45:16 45 minutes, 16 seconds bringing in processing packing and supplying so uh generally it's a 100 90 to 150 days cycle depending on uh uh the 45:25 45 minutes, 25 seconds product and crop for herbicides anyway every company has made all the arrangement because herbicides need to be supplied in May and June for 45:32 45 minutes, 32 seconds consumption in June and July right so herbicide is all done insecticides also start early that's happening fungicides come later on so I 45:41 45 minutes, 41 seconds I think you have to assume this cost increase even if uh say war settles tonight you know we have a surprised 45:49 45 minutes, 49 seconds announcement that war is over right uh straight up is open life is normal it's going to take 3 to four months uh to 45:57 45 minutes, 57 seconds unwind mind uh to me kharif this is a reality we'll live with it we'll have to live with it we don't have a choice 46:06 46 minutes, 6 seconds understood thanks thank you next question comes from the 46:14 46 minutes, 14 seconds line of Abijit Aka securities please go ahead good morning thank you so much for this 46:21 46 minutes, 21 seconds question sir hi sir um just uh first of all one clarification on the numbers revenue breakdown. Um, yeah, Bascar had uh given 46:31 46 minutes, 31 seconds us a number of 255 crores for B2C sales for the quarter compared to 222 last year. Just wondering if it might be 46:39 46 minutes, 39 seconds possible to also give us a crop protection component within that specifically. 46:45 46 minutes, 45 seconds Uh yes uh he he will be able to provide that. 46:51 46 minutes, 51 seconds So you are looking at a breakup of uh uh so so those are micro details but by and large I would say uh it is split between 47:00 47 minutes PH and proper know 20% and 80% but we'll get back to your details separately because these are my know splits 47:09 47 minutes, 9 seconds no problem you can drop the mail to know separately sure and uh when you guided to high 47:18 47 minutes, 18 seconds double digit growth for seeds in the next uh year. Just to clarify that basically referring to say something like high team, right? Uh is that the range we're looking at? 47:29 47 minutes, 29 seconds Yeah, I mean mid team mid team easily. 47:32 47 minutes, 32 seconds Okay. Okay. Sure. And uh there was one comment uh so you made in the opening remarks that the sector may see 3 to 4% growth in SI27. 47:42 47 minutes, 42 seconds No, that's the GDP growth. GDP. Okay. Okay. All right. Understood. 47:48 47 minutes, 48 seconds uh but on the crop production side as well the margins uh when you mentioned steam to soft uh expect yeah so I mean percentage revenue growth 47:57 47 minutes, 57 seconds will be higher this year because price increase you know uh so revenue growth probably will be maybe double the digit 48:04 48 minutes, 4 seconds I don't know what it could be because if your input cost has gone up by 15 to 20% there is it is going to lead to price 48:11 48 minutes, 11 seconds increase for sure it'll be 5% 8% 10% I don't know at this point of time because ultimately Many factors are not clear yet. 48:21 48 minutes, 21 seconds Margins uh uh depending on how competition will react, how commodity prices will behave have. Generally in such situations uh commodity prices tend 48:29 48 minutes, 29 seconds to rise uh and again it tends to be crop specific. Other than rice I expect commodity prices uh to remain firm on 48:38 48 minutes, 38 seconds everything else. Rice global globe is sitting on a excess supply including India. Now India for example grows a lot of basmati. If Middle East remains 48:48 48 minutes, 48 seconds disrupted, you know, then basmati demand will go down. As a result, farmers may plant less basmati. So they might plant 48:55 48 minutes, 55 seconds regular rice, they might plant a little bit more maze or some other crop. So I I think those are the things you know too early to say. But again for maze they 49:03 49 minutes, 3 seconds will say I need more ura. Now if enough more ura is not available will they do something else? Uh too early to say. 49:13 49 minutes, 13 seconds Got it. So just last couple of things. 49:16 49 minutes, 16 seconds One is um you know at some point if we assume that this war ends and the price of crude comes down how do we sort of 49:23 49 minutes, 23 seconds protect ourselves from the risk that we may be sitting on high cost inventories at that point 49:34 49 minutes, 34 seconds actually your line the question well because line was breaking 49:42 49 minutes, 42 seconds um yeah am I audible right now clearly Yes, you are audible. Please go ahead. 49:51 49 minutes, 51 seconds Yeah, thank you sir. Uh just uh asking that repeat the question. 49:56 49 minutes, 56 seconds Yeah, sure. So just asking that actually. Yeah, sure. I hope you can hear me now. 50:03 50 minutes, 3 seconds Uh yes, Mr. Akira, you sound loud and clear. Please repeat the question. Thank you. 50:08 50 minutes, 8 seconds Yeah. So the question is uh that assuming the war uh you know assuming the price of crude comes down by some 50:16 50 minutes, 16 seconds extent over the next say 3 to 6 months how do we sort of manage the risk that we might be sitting on high cost inventories at that point in time 50:25 50 minutes, 25 seconds so uh I think two ways to look at it one is that uh we don't have to become 50:32 50 minutes, 32 seconds greedy in holding the inventory right uh so we will go as per our the business plan based on what can be sold. We so 50:40 50 minutes, 40 seconds we're not going to hold the inventory and if even if war unwinds in 3 to 6 month I saying we are not building inventory beyond karif right karif is 50:49 50 minutes, 49 seconds something we want to protect for ri will so I I think you know I can tell you and I don't know what other companies do I have every call in the morning every day 50:57 50 minutes, 57 seconds we talk right so we are almost back to a situation during covid know we were doing calls since morning you know 8:00 51:05 51 minutes, 5 seconds a.m. to 8:00 p.m. So you're into that situation. We we are not we are building inventory which we think is right. We're 51:12 51 minutes, 12 seconds not building excess inventory because that could be a good opportunity and a bad opportunity. So so we are doing uh we are very calibrated about what we buy 51:20 51 minutes, 20 seconds what we sell what we'll only buy what we can sell. 51:26 51 minutes, 26 seconds Understood sir that's that's clear. Just last quick thing this um liquidation of plasau and benzilla in the fourth 51:34 51 minutes, 34 seconds quarter was was that one of the the key contributors to this 14% volume growth that we saw in domestic formulations 51:50 51 minutes, 50 seconds uh so out of that uh benzilla we when you can say 80% % of the problem is 51:58 51 minutes, 58 seconds solved very little problem left salts right class was more dependent on the 52:06 52 minutes, 6 seconds chili crop uh the thrifts the chili crop did get planted commises were low uh seems the 52:12 52 minutes, 12 seconds first chili farmer Benelia was no preference of the farmer so we are launching new products in those segments at the same time we have we are 52:21 52 minutes, 21 seconds unwinding inventory completely so thank you so much sir All the best for the year ahead. 52:29 52 minutes, 29 seconds Thank you. 52:32 52 minutes, 32 seconds Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Viju with antic stock booking. Please go ahead. 52:38 52 minutes, 38 seconds Yeah. Hi sir. Uh hope I'm audible. Uh uh my question regarding the inventory uh if if I look at your if I numbers I 52:46 52 minutes, 46 seconds think inventory is a bit higher. So this is predominantly that we are building some some inventory at at a lower cost 52:54 52 minutes, 54 seconds uh maybe the pre-work scenario or during the year scenario to protect our margin going forward. So how it is like is it 53:01 53 minutes, 1 second RM related or like a finance computer that we have already built? 53:07 53 minutes, 7 seconds No no so it is not related to what we build for the season. it is related to preparing for so I mean this war thing 53:14 53 minutes, 14 seconds was almost uh imminent right from the month of January right so we we didn't for war to happen wait for war to happen 53:22 53 minutes, 22 seconds we did take some risk to build some inventory for the so so so yeah understood so 53:29 53 minutes, 29 seconds these are predominantly RM inventory and maybe a low cost kind of inventory that you have built absolutely 53:38 53 minutes, 38 seconds understood and sir Uh second thing uh if I if I if if I look at in terms of you know uh in the in the in the uh current 53:48 53 minutes, 48 seconds current uh pricing of the few of the commodities. So in your earlier remarks you said that expecting a good good uh crop in terms of maze and other crops. 53:58 53 minutes, 58 seconds Uh so so uh if if I look at pricing of maze uh from the month of October November so the prices are very low 54:07 54 minutes, 7 seconds compared to the NC prices. How do you see the impact like uh are are farmers going to you know stick to the mess crop 54:15 54 minutes, 15 seconds or there will be some shift that will happen if that happen like what are these scenarios in terms of city business and in terms of your city 54:23 54 minutes, 23 seconds business will get so I I think look uh low and high has to 54:34 54 minutes, 34 seconds be seen from the perspective of farmers makes per per acre of money. Don't worry 54:40 54 minutes, 40 seconds about commodity prices as much. I think at the end of the day it will be matter of relative economics. So how much I can 54:49 54 minutes, 49 seconds produce by growing a crop, how much it is going to cost and what price I can sell. To me they are used they have seen for a period of time. 55:00 55 minutes Crop is still very very competitive to grow. 55:06 55 minutes, 6 seconds Understood. So, so crop prices might not impact significantly in terms of crop shifting, right? 55:14 55 minutes, 14 seconds Yes. I mean, I mean it's again I'm saying for example rice. So I think a lot depend on global inventory buildup 55:21 55 minutes, 21 seconds and what country allows to import and what country restricts. For example, India had a restriction on how much mage 55:28 55 minutes, 28 seconds can be imported. We said we will not allow GM uh GM mage commodity soybean which is GM grown. So, so, so I think there a lot of other factors will play. 55:39 55 minutes, 39 seconds I would say other than rise uh inventory, global inventory is at the normal level. 55:48 55 minutes, 48 seconds Understood. Understood. And uh sir uh uh in terms of city business right now uh we have done 15% kind of a growth. So uh 55:58 55 minutes, 58 seconds in in the domestic CP business so uh if you could you know uh clarify in terms of volume and the relation growth in the 56:05 56 minutes, 5 seconds 15% growth that we have reported this quarter. Uh 15% growth in which segment? 56:12 56 minutes, 12 seconds Uh CP business that we have recorded this quarter? Uh that is oh no crop protection we where did we 56:20 56 minutes, 20 seconds say the same growth? Oh you saying B2C growth right? 56:30 56 minutes, 30 seconds Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. 56:31 56 minutes, 31 seconds Yeah. Yeah. So see we have when we say uh crop protection business we primarily 56:37 56 minutes, 37 seconds have uh uh there's a soil and plant health and there's also crop protection 56:44 56 minutes, 44 seconds and uh so these are the two uh major component now this is B2C within that there's a higher growth in soil and 56:53 56 minutes, 53 seconds plant health uh relative to crop protection and I have been saying that look my focus is to sell more herbicide more soil and plant health and more seed 57:01 57 minutes, 1 second Right? Because disease sometimes because of moisture and all can come and go. Know insects come and don't come. Right? 57:09 57 minutes, 9 seconds So actually our focus segments have contributed more in terms of growth. Uh uh if you see from that perspective 57:17 57 minutes, 17 seconds understood. So sir uh if if we remove that you know uh 27% kind of a growth in the uh sp so how much will be our B2C uh PP business growth for this quarter? 57:32 57 minutes, 32 seconds Uh it'll be flat. 57:35 57 minutes, 35 seconds Okay. It will be flatish kind of a growth. 57:37 57 minutes, 37 seconds I mean marginal growth. I mean you can say marginal growth low single digit. It won't be flat. It's still marginally positive. 57:45 57 minutes, 45 seconds Understood. Understood. Yeah. Uh thanks. Thanks. Applies all the questions. 57:54 57 minutes, 54 seconds Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Nin AI with red capital. Please go ahead. 58:00 58 minutes Hello sir just wanted to understand on your new venture the aqua feed business uh what is the current investments and 58:08 58 minutes, 8 seconds the thought process behind this uh and given that Tata and Maharashtra the Tata group in Maharashtra does have expertise 58:16 58 minutes, 16 seconds in freshwater fisheries with its hatchery business hatch not business it's a social uh commitment perspective 58:23 58 minutes, 23 seconds so that linkage and the basic thought process behind this business where we are what we what we see to invest where we going to invest that if you could outline. 58:37 58 minutes, 37 seconds So uh look as part of the uh TATA strategy in agriculture we we did the whole mapping and we identified this as 58:45 58 minutes, 45 seconds an idea to worth experiment right uh I think it's still at a experimental stage 58:52 58 minutes, 52 seconds because we believe you know uh as economies grow per capita income grows you know uh more animal origin 59:01 59 minutes, 1 second protein becomes a pro preferred food know the consumption of fish which can be grown in land even our prime minister 59:08 59 minutes, 8 seconds keeps talking about know so that no we are not only dependent on ocean we can also have more fish in land so so I mean 59:16 59 minutes, 16 seconds look this uh it still is a relatively smaller scale it hasn't gone to a stage start discussing in how much we want to 59:24 59 minutes, 24 seconds make investment I would like to see one more year this year to say where I am able to take it and then start thinking of the strategy but yes it's an 59:33 59 minutes, 33 seconds important segment we We we're trying to understand rather than trying to rush into the segment. 59:38 59 minutes, 38 seconds Understood. So the current products in the market are completely outsourced. So uh products are outsourced. 59:46 59 minutes, 46 seconds Similar to soil and plant health business uh we incubated 7 8 10 years ago because when we sold Tata chemical 59:54 59 minutes, 54 seconds bulk fertilizer business we were left with some residual micronutrients right. 59:59 59 minutes, 59 seconds So we said okay what do we do with this business? So we build built this business. Now it has reached to a scale of know to 50 cr plus. So now we are 1:00:07 1 hour, 7 seconds saying okay how do we invest more because this we find it very exciting right I think equa is probably where you 1:00:13 1 hour, 13 seconds know five seven years ago our soil and plant health business was so probably one one or two more cycle 1:00:20 1 hour, 20 seconds before we can uh say anything about it understood sir so second question wise it is a but I think see there's so 1:00:30 1 hour, 30 seconds much potential in everything right we can't do everything so it's still understanding phase understood sir The secondly on the seed 1:00:37 1 hour, 37 seconds perspective uh the whole industry has a lot of GE trials approved including rallis and it's been going on for quite 1:00:45 1 hour, 45 seconds some time now and given that the new policy of GE which has come out which differentiates itself from GM regulation. Uh do you see um what do you 1:00:54 1 hour, 54 seconds call the traction in that segment increasing exponentially going ahead or do you still see hurdles in this segment 1:01:01 1 hour, 1 minute, 1 second picking up? See when I look at seed R&D uh there are clearly two components one 1:01:08 1 hour, 1 minute, 8 seconds is called genetics improvement where you keep accessing genetics and start applying tools to improve the genetics 1:01:16 1 hour, 1 minute, 16 seconds to develop product faster. I think there we are doing everything which needs to be get done when it comes to GE 1:01:23 1 hour, 1 minute, 23 seconds basically uh it's not about GM crop now any longer it's not about bringing gene from outside the conversation is all 1:01:30 1 hour, 1 minute, 30 seconds about genetic gene editing and gene editing is one space I think where while government has cleared the regulation 1:01:39 1 hour, 1 minute, 39 seconds but the big global multinationals continue to hold patent rights right so we would rather initially rather than 1:01:47 1 hour, 1 minute, 47 seconds trying to do everything in house. We would rely on uh outside skills 1:01:54 1 hour, 1 minute, 54 seconds uh to get the job work done and there are technologies we're accessing. For example, know our cotton business is built on the foundation of BT technology. Mhm. 1:02:03 1 hour, 2 minutes, 3 seconds Now we are we are actually launching what we call pan technology le rice rice seed business where there'll be 1:02:12 1 hour, 2 minutes, 12 seconds herbicide tolerance gene and it'll be sold as a bundled product along with seed and know herbicide. So so we would 1:02:20 1 hour, 2 minutes, 20 seconds rather license those technologies rather than trying to invest 10 years on researching those technologies because global multinations they have 1:02:27 1 hour, 2 minutes, 27 seconds disproportionate R&D on those areas. uh I think by spending a small money and for the sake of you know conversation I 1:02:35 1 hour, 2 minutes, 35 seconds can say I will do it but I would rather prefer accessing those technologies you know 1:02:42 1 hour, 2 minutes, 42 seconds understood sir thank you yeah thanks thank you next question 1:02:48 1 hour, 2 minutes, 48 seconds comes from the line of darita asset manager please uh we have lost the line of mitas 1:02:56 1 hour, 2 minutes, 56 seconds promote the next that is Rajkumar Vinati RPM Please go. 1:03:05 1 hour, 3 minutes, 5 seconds Uh so yeah, my question has been answered. Thank you. Yes. 1:03:12 1 hour, 3 minutes, 12 seconds Yes. Please go ahead. Thank you. 1:03:18 1 hour, 3 minutes, 18 seconds Ladies and gentlemen, we take that as the last question and conclude the question and answer session. On behalf of Valis India Limited, that concludes 1:03:25 1 hour, 3 minutes, 25 seconds this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect. Thank you.