Bayer India to set up Euro 30 million agro ingredient plant in Gujrat

Mumbai: As part of its expansion plans, Bayer India is investing 30 million euros to set up an agro ingredient plant at Vapi in Gujarat.

"As part of our expansion programme, we are investing Euro 30 million to set up agro ingredient unit at Vapi in Gujarat by June 2017. "These agro ingredients will be manufactured for both domestic and global markets," Senior Bayer Representative, South Asia Richard van der Merwe told reporters after inaugurating Bayer's global science exhibition here.

Bayer's existing Vapi unit is engaged in the manufacture of active ingredients and intermediates for use in a wide array of agriculture and environment protection products.

It is also the single largest synthetic pyrethroids production facility in the world. With this new laboratory, in which Bayer has invested around Euro 2 million, the company aims to increase resource flexibility in its global formulation activities.

The new formulation lab unit will focus on developing seed treatments, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. The Euro 489 million Bayer group in India has already invested Euro 200 million in the country, which includes capital investment and setting up three manufacturing units at Hyderabad, Vapi and Himatnagar in Gujarat, Merwe said.

The company also hopes to launch 10 new crop science products in next three years to help increasing average yields for farmers, he added. Merwe also sought government's intervention to curb spurious farm products, which causes crop failures.