Syngenta may look to increase manufacturing under Make in India'

Basel (Switzerland)-based Syngenta has had a strong presence in India for a long time. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) JEFF ROWE, in an interview with Sanjeeb Mukherjee in New Delhi, lays down growth plans. Edited excerpts:

Your presence in India is pretty varied, right? Do you do manufacturing here?

Well, we have third-party manufacturing. We do formulation and we do some breeding. So, we do have some facilities, but our industry is very, very local. We have to have a global presence and a global network, and we also have to be relevant to local farmers.

What are your plans for 'Make in India'?

Some of your colleagues spoke about it at an earlier event.

The Prime Minister is encouraging companies to make stuff in India. So, I mean, we do thirdparty manufacturing here. We do formulations here. We do plant breeding here. We do plant selection. We do some seed production. So, we already have a pretty significant footprint in India of Made in India. Now, of course, we're a big company. We have lots of different supply chains. So, we're also importing into India. It's a combination of imports and made-in-India.

So, do you plan to increase that Make-in-India part in India?

Yes, I mean, as business grows, it's logical that the footprint and manufacturing would grow as well. And, that's a trend we are seeing again, particularly in the manufacturing of active ingredients and crop protection. We're seeing India become a much more important manufacturer.