Executives from Indian and Chinese crop-protection companies debated which country will shape the future of agricultural input sourcing at the AgriBusiness Global Trade Summit, and agreed on three shifts, AgriBusiness Global reports.
India was represented by Abhishek Aggarwal, president and chief operating officer of Bharat Rasayan, and Abhijit Bose, executive president and chief operating officer of Tagros Chemicals India. The Chinese side was David Li, vice president of SPM Biosciences, and Kevin Li, general manager of the crop protection division of Sichuan Leshan Fuhua Tongda Agro-chemical Technology.
First, the panel said trust is replacing cost as the main competitive factor, with buyers looking for intellectual property protection, reliability and long-term partnerships. "The last decade was about who is the best or cheapest supplier," Aggarwal said. "The next decade is about who is the most trusted one." Li described trust as ability, a wish to help farmers, and a willingness to take risks on their behalf.
Second, supply chain resilience: with geopolitical conflict, including the US-Iran conflict, disrupting trade, the panel said the countries that stay resilient will lead. Bose said he did not know whether this was a new normal, but that the industry should adapt to it, and the faster the better.
Third, artificial intelligence will be a competitive edge. Bose and Aggarwal said India has built AI capacity in supply chains, logistics, manufacturing and research, but conceded that China is ahead. "As of today, it's China who has an upper hand in terms of the AI in ag chem and the development of new molecules," Aggarwal said. The report was written by Matt Hopkins.
Source: AgriBusiness Global
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