In India, the Aventis CropScience group consists of four entities, held variously by the overseas parent. These are AgrEvo India (50.1 per cent), Rhone Poulenc Agro (a 100 per cent subsidiary), Bilag India (a 51 per cent joint venture) and ProAgro Seeds (98 per cent owned). Indications are that another group arm, DBK Technologies (essentially into electrical mosquito coils), may not be of significant strategic interest.

While a final decision on the proposed merger of Aventis CropScience group arms in India could be expected by the second half of 2000, AgrEvo and Rhone Poulence Agro will cash in on synergies on the sales, marketing and distribution front. The duo were already into a co-marketing alliance (for fipronil and a wheat herbicide) prior to the global merger announcement.

AgrEvo India has already been renamed Aventis CropScience India while Rhone Poulenc Agro (with a turnover of Rs 128 crore) is in the process of a rechristening.

Aventis CropScience country head V Sagar Kaushik said the combine is targeting sales of Rs 400 crore in 2000 (as against Rs 350 crore in 1999) and plans to launch new products like Raft (a rice herbicide), Rivet (a cotton insecticide), Civet (a cotton insecticide) and an agricultural tablet for vegetables and cotton, Ezeetab (for which a Rs 2 crore unit has been set up).

New products are expected to add Rs 12 crore to the topline in the year of launch.Aventis Crop Science deputy country head M Ramesh said that there is scope to double exports if bromoconazole-a fungicide-sourced from India. At maturity, this product will add Rs 20 crore to the Indian operations' current export figure of Rs 20 crore. The entire effort will entail an investment of Rs 5-10 crore at AgrEvo's Ankleshwar unit.

Other products with export potential include anilphos (a rice herbicide), hostathion, among others. The Bilag venture, Aventis CropScience vice-chairman KK Unni added, would serve as a sourcing point for deltamethrin and bioalethrin.

Aventis CropScience head of the Asia Pacific region Karl-Peter Schlichting said that India is expected to emerge as the third biggest market in Asia after Japan and China, adding that the country is expected play a key role in demonstrating the value of crop protection techniques-bringing all farm inputs, namely seed, crop improvement and crop protection technology on a single platform.