Kenya’s chemical fertiliser imports surged 15 per cent last year to 568,600 tonnes and was valued at Sh23.4 billion. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd is seeking a consultant to guide in setting up an office in Nairobi.
The Nairobi office will help the firm gain a foothold of the Eastern Africa market where the company is already a major supplier of specialty chemicals.
India’s state-backed company Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd has revealed plans to open a regional hub in Nairobi to market its products.
The maker of fertilisers and industrial chemicals is seeking a consultant to guide in setting up an office in Nairobi, which will scout for deals in the East African region.
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd is a joint venture between the State government of Gujarat and Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd, a firm listed on the National Stock Exchange of India.
“GNFC is planning to open a liaison office in Nairobi, Kenya to further enhance business in the region,” said R. G. Rehani, the firm’s general manager in a notice seen by the Business Daily.
The Nairobi office will help the firm gain a foothold of the Eastern Africa market where the company is already a major supplier of specialty chemicals, such as Toluene diisocyanate and Ethyl Acetate used in textiles and pharmaceuticals respectively, said Mr Rehani.
The consultant will assist the Indian firm secure all necessary statutory approvals, open a bank account, search for an office premises, assist negotiate lease, and hire support staff for the Nairobi.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by a delegation of more than 80 Indian investors, recently visited Nairobi during which he signed multiple trade deals with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Bharuch-based company manufactures fertilisers under the ‘Narmada’ brand — which contributes about a quarter of profits with the chemical line being its mainstay making up 70 per cent of earnings.
The company reported a net profit of 226.36 crore (Sh3.4 billion) for the fiscal period ended March 2016 from a net loss of 452.07 (Sh6.8 billion) crore the previous year. It retails different shades of top dressing such as urea, ammonium nitro phosphate (ANP) and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) 19:19:19, and organic fertiliser made from neem seed kernel and urban solid waste.
The Gujarati firm is also seeking to bring to the region industrial chemicals such as methanol, formic acid (used mainly textiles), weak nitric acid (used in pharmaceuticals), and acetic acid, used in textile processing and printing.
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd is setting up office in Nairobi at a time when Japanese giant Toyota Tsusho is set to open a $1.2 billion (Sh120 billion) fertiliser plant in Uasin Gishu next month.
The Kenyan government spends Sh3 billion annually to provide farmers with low-cost fertiliser — mostly imported from Russia, USA, Europe, Middle East, Asia and South Africa - at Sh1,600 compared to market rate of Sh3,500.
Kenya’s chemical fertiliser imports surged 15 per cent last year to 568,600 tonnes and was valued at Sh23.4 billion, according to data from the latest Economic Survey.
Mea Ltd, a local firm which imports and blends multiple fertiliser varieties, is currently setting up a Sh3 billion factory to manufacture NPK top dressing. Production is scheduled to begin November this year.
The Nairobi-based firm is also in talks with two Chinese firms — China National Chemical Engineering Company and Sinochem Fertilizer Co — to build a nitrogen fertiliser plant immediately the NPK one is up and running.
NSE-listed ARM Cement also blends fertiliser which retail under the ‘Mavuno’ brand.
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