Recently specialists of Enzym Company visited India within the Ukrainian Trade Mission framework, where they presented active live feed yeast of their own production and discussed possibilities and prospects for their export market expansion. This is a relatively new product of the company, but very promising because the probiotic yeast market for domestic animals is developing at a breakneck speed worldwide. Rejection of antibiotics, balanced nutrition for animals, and the use of probiotic materials are on trend, and Enzym Company is actively following it.
We talked to Serhii Lavrov, Commercial Director of the Enzym, about the peculiarities of the Indian market, the official mission, trends in the agricultural sector, as well as the new product.
– Tell us more about your trip. How and for what purpose did the Enzym Company join the Ukrainian Trade Mission and how long did it last?
This all took place within the framework of the Trade Mission of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Export Promotion Office. Here they invited mainly representatives of businesses, companies that have export potential and wish to develop it – particularly in India. All in all, eight agro-industrial and technological enterprises were invited. It all lasted for 10 days.
– What cities in India have you been to and with whom have you been negotiating?
During this time as part of the official program, we had meetings in the capital of the country – Delhi, and in the financial capital – the city of Mumbai. In addition, we had our own additional “mission” – to the city of Bangalore, where we met with specialists from partner companies and representatives of 4 states of India and held preliminary talks with a potential distributor of our products. This visit took place on the basis of the Karnataka State Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
– The active live probiotic yeast on the Indiay market is a somewhat new product for Enzym Company. What are they used for and where is the greatest need for them?
It is a product for the feed industry. Such yeast with probiotic properties is more often used in raising broilers, piglets, pigs, and dairy cows. It is a probiotic supplement to reduce the use of antibiotics, veterinary costs for treatment and prevention, and to balance the diet of domestic animals.
– Why did you choose India in particular? And this is the first country where you plan to export this product?
Since this product is really relatively new to us, and we released it less than a year ago, we are now actively testing different markets in order to understand where our biggest export potential is. We chose India for two reasons. First, we had preliminary talks with Indian partners back in March 2017 at the VivAsia exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand. Second, India is one of the largest countries in terms of population. Now officially it is about 1.2 billion people. And, of course, the potential of the market itself is very large. This is a country that is developing very rapidly, though unevenly. So, in fact, we have a lot of interest.
– You mentioned that you had meetings with representatives of four states during the exhibition. In fact, as far as I understand, it is a country where you intend to export first, right? Which states are we talking about?
The states in question are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala. There have been located the largest producers of milk, poultry, and eggs in the country. In addition, Karnataka, with Bangalore as its capital, is one of the largest and most developed states, where broiler growing and dairy production are concentrated. All the major producers in the sector were present at this meeting. So,9 we were able to present our products at the highest possible level. Now we are forming the first, test shipment of our products there. We want the producers to try it out and make sure of its effectiveness, after which we will decide on a full-fledged industrial batch.
– When can we tentatively expect the beginning of cooperation with India, i.e. test shipments of products?
We intend to send the first batch within the next 2 weeks. After that, it will take us about 1.5 months to go through the whole testing cycle. Since the broilers are fattened on average for 42 days, we will be able to get results only after that.
– Did you manage to learn more about the peculiarities of the local market and business rules during your stay in India? Are they very different from those in Ukraine?
Here it is worth saying that, yes, they are different. First, about half of the population is vegetarian, so they don’t eat meat or milk. Secondly, there are a lot of small farms and households. So if you focus on selling our products in India, you have to take into account the relevant specifics of distribution. In fact, this is a very interesting country for doing business.
– Is India interested in any other Enzym Company products?
If we talk about the main type of our products, that is, baking yeast, then we are somewhat behind Chinese companies in terms of logistics. That is why we focus mainly on these probiotic yeasts. They also have great potential on their own. The main trend in cattle breeding, both in Europe and around the world, is a balanced diet for animals and the rejection of antibiotics or a significant reduction in their amount. And understandably, to do this, you need to provide sustainable immunity to infections by other means, including – using probiotic drugs. As of 2018 Europe plans to completely eliminate the use of antibiotics in broiler breeding and cattle fattening, as well as in dairy production.
– Are you negotiating the export of this yeast with other countries? Or only with India?
Before that, we were at a specialized exhibition in Thailand, where we had many meetings with representatives of feed companies. Now we continue negotiations to supply test batches there. In addition, within the framework of the same exhibition, we had negotiations with China representatives, who are also interested in our products. In this country, the certification rules are somewhat more complicated, but we are working on it. So we are interested in the entire Asian market. It is complicated, but very large and intensively developing. Probiotic yeast is a much more expensive product than bakery yeast. So logistics are not as important here as in Europe. Although, of course, after Asia, we plan to conquer the European market with this product.
– And to conclude. There were Ukrainian members of the government at the meeting in India. How important is it for the development of business in Ukraine and the establishment of exports to other countries?
In my opinion, the mission itself was organized quite well. The Export Promotion Office did a good job. The meetings were worked out, we were given a preliminary list of 30 interested companies – 10 of them actually confirmed their participation. We negotiated with real companies. And we weren’t the ones looking for them. That is, the support of the state is tangible. Besides, such trips are useful not only from the point of view of an exporting company, but also for the promotion of Ukrainian exports in general, and in the promotion of the country on the B2B market.
