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Best Agriculture Stocks to Buy Now in India 2024

Created :  Author :  Yesha Shah Category :  , Basics of stock market, Everything about Investing

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Last Updated - JAN 2023

In this article, we will cover

  1. Reasons for investing in agriculture stocks
  2. A comprehensive and well-researched list of the best agriculture stocks to buy
  3. Factors to consider while compiling the list of the best agricultural stocks
  4. Risks to consider before investing in Best agriculture stocks
  5. Watch our video to analyse & pick best agriculture stocks for investments
  6. A model portfolio to gain exposure to the best agricultural stocks in the Indian market
  7. Detailed overview of the Best Agriculture stocks

Reasons for investing in Agriculture Stocks

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the Indian economy as it means the livelihood of almost 58% of the workforce in India. The sector accounts for approximately 17.8% of India’s Gross Value Added (GVA). The Indian agricultural sector predominantly acts as one of the pillars of the Indian economy and is woven within the very socio-economic framework of India. Naturally, agriculture and other allied activities are key to domestic consumption. In order to ensure food security and fair share of exports, India has tremendously increased its production in agriculture in variety and volume. And this translates to the change in the agricultural industry significantly impacting the growth of the agrochemical industry, making India one of the biggest consumers of agrochemical products across the globe. The rapidly rising population and ever-increasing need for economic growth along with food production are some of the factors contributing to the growth in this industry. In addition to this, encountering various bottlenecks such as soil degradation, dearth of water supply, scarcity of land due to urbanization and so on are what is further driving the farmers to use agrochemicals products in order to sustain.    Deployment of ‘Kisan Drones’ to promote crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides, and nutrients, will greatly benefit the farmers. This has very positive implications for the industry as it provides the necessary push to the agriculture sector. An increase in farmer’s income will result in the boost to farmer’s buying power as well as investment towards better harvest production such as better seeds, crop protection products, tractors, irrigation systems, etc. These are just a few examples which can further boost not only the output but also a farmer’s disposable personal income.In fact, the central governmenthas pumped about Rs. 131,000 crores into agriculture and related sectors, with a special focus on building an export-oriented economy. The agriculture sector is one of the most crucial sectors in the country with large headroom for increasing consumption; the sector has demand for proven and time-tested products such as pesticides, tractors and existing irrigation systems among others. There is also room for innovation with the emergence of new and more efficient farming techniques and products such as biologicals, hybrid seeds, organic fertilizers and pesticides, new irrigation techniques and other upcoming products. Hence, the agriculture business is full of investing opportunities. Investors can choose to invest among companies providing agricultural products and services such as fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphate, and potash, with niche categories sprinkled in), pesticides (which protect plants against insects, fungi, weeds, and other nuisances), seeds, crushing and processing, and livestock. 

List of Best Agricultural Stocks to buy - Summary Table

Sr. No. Company Name BSE Scrip Code NSE Symbol CMP (as on December 28, 2022) Rating Industry
1 PI Industries Ltd. 523642 PIIND 3,446 3 Agrochemicals
2 Bharat Rasayan Ltd. 590021 BHARATRAS 9,855.00 0.5 Agrochemicals
3 UPL Ltd. 512070 UPL 723 0.5 Agrochemicals
4 DCM Shriram Ltd. 523367 DCMSHRIRAM 863.00 0.5 Chemical Manufacturing
5 Coromandel International Ltd. 506395 COROMANDEL 895 3 Fertilizers
6 Bayer CropScience Ltd. 506285 BAYERCROP 4,862.00 0.5 Agrochemicals
7 Godrej Agrovet Ltd. 540743 GODREJAGRO 474 0.5 Agriculture
8 Avanti Feeds Ltd. 512573 AVANTIFEED 393 2 Aquaculture
9 Kaveri Seed Company Ltd. 532899 KSCL 520 0.5 Agriculture
10 BalrampurChini Mills Ltd. 500038 BALRAMCHIN 397 0.5 Sugar
11 Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Ltd. 500097 DALMIASUG 377 0.5 Sugar
12 Tata Consumer Products Ltd. 500800 TATACONSUM 781 2 Coffee and Tea
Factors to Consider While Compiling the list of Best Agricultural Stocks All in all, investors are advised to base their selection preferences on strong domestic distribution & farmer connections, balance sheet strength in terms of cash flows and capital structure along with superior raw material security. In addition to this, intermediate suppliers to major global agrochemical companies are better placed due to the resulting rise or shift in outsourcing from China to India, as these companies stand a great chance of increasing market share in such eventualities.  An Investor should cherry pick companies which have visibility in growth and have the ability to come out stronger from any downturns. Other factors such as profit margins, R&D expenditure, revenue growth rate etc. should definitely be checked for investing in an agricultural company. The below mentioned model portfolio includes a list of stable companies from the Agricultural industry for an investor to include in his portfolio.

PI Industries Ltd

PI Industries, founded in 1946, is an integrated agriochemicals solution company which currently caters to complex chemistry solutions market in agri and other fine chemicals areas across the world. The company, with three agrochemical formulation plants and five multipurpose plants, is a leading player in the domestic agricultural inputs sector, particularly in the agrochemicals and plant nutrients space. The company’s products include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and specialty products. It has made its mark in the domestic agricultural inputs and contract manufacturing (CSM) exports segments and is now foraying into pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals by incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary called PI Health Sciences Ltd. The company aims to establish a differentiated position in the pharma sector by using its core competencies in complex chemistry, operational excellence, technology platforms and global reach through partnerships with large innovators. This foray into pharma expands revenue visibility further and has the potential to diversify its revenue stream to a certain extent. Additionally, the company executed two Joint Venture agreements on October 11, 2021 with Polymath Holdings, LLC for undertaking the business of manufacturing and selling products for Bio Chemistry processes and Bio Chemical enabled pharmaceutical intermediates. PI Industries’ business profile is backed by product and geographic diversity, especially in the custom synthesis and CSM business. With a solid product line up, supportive policy environment, and normal monsoon, the domestic business (27% of revenues) is also expected to improve over the medium term. A robust order book of USD 1.5 billion in the CSM segment from the existing product basket, improving contributions from recent new launches in the domestic market along with new molecule additions in both business segments, supports high revenue visibility of sustainable growth in the next 3-4 years. Additionally, demand from agrochemical portfolio is expected to remain healthy in the domestic and European markets which would lead to overall revenue growth of approx. 18-20% for over the medium term. Key risk includes significant moderation in revenue growth and operating profitability due to higher-than-normal time lag in passing on increased raw-material prices and delay in commissioning of projects or execution of orders. Further, the agrochemical sector remains susceptible to specific and separate registration processes in different countries, and various environmental rules and regulations. Any change in regulatory requirements, such as export and import policies and environmental and safety requirements may impact growth prospects.

UPL Ltd

UPL Ltd. (UPL) manufactures, markets, and distributes crop protection products, intermediates, specialty chemicals, and other industrial chemicals; and undertakes research in these segments. UPL is known for several acquisitions and strategic alliances to diversify its product profile and increase geographical reach. The group now includes over 200 entities. After Arysta LifeScience’s acquisition, UPL moved up to be the 5th largest crop protection company globally. The company holds the first rank among agrochemical companies in BioSolutions. It is also the largest agrochemical company in India. Revenue base is well diversified, with approximately  70.8% generated from Latin America, Europe, and the US in Q2FY23. Company’s wider geographical reach has succinctly reduced susceptibility to cyclicality in demand from any one region. Flexible and multi-product manufacturing facilities along with robust supply chain & distribution network have kept UPL’s EBITDA margin intact at 20-22% over the last five years. The management has guided for an EBITDA margin to 24-25% over the next three years. Despite an incredibly tough year, UPL delivered a robust growth in profitability through continuously innovating and transforming. UPL's financial risk profile is adequate and supported by material annual operational cash flows and sizeable net worth of Rs. 24,580 crores estimated as on March 31, 2021. Company’s management is committed to reducing debt levels over the medium term. The company's net debt (Rs. 18,922 crores as at March 31, 2021) has reduced by Rs. 3,140 crores backed by improvement in working capital management. UPL replaced $500 million of the acquisition loan with a sustainability loan at 30 bps lower interest rate and extended maturity by 2 years. Key risks include escalation in corporate governance issues as the recent whistleblower complaint against the promoters siphoning off funds is a red flag. It would be essential as an investor to keep an eye on this issue as further escalation could lead to value erosion in the stock price. Additionally, any significant decline in revenue and fall in operating profitability would impact the cash generating ability of the company and taint its credit risk profile.

Avanti Feeds Ltd

Avanti Feeds manufactures and sells shrimp feed and exports processed shrimp. It has a total shrimp feed capacity of 600,000 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), of which 60,000 mtpa is in Gujarat and remaining 540,000 mtpa in Andhra Pradesh. Company commands a market share of about 45% in the domestic feed business. Its shrimp processing subsidiary, Avanti Frozen Foods which has an installed capacity of 22,000 mtpa, is one of the leading shrimp exporters in the country. Thai Union holds around 24.21% stake in the company and 40% stake in Avanti Frozen Foods which is among the largest shrimp, fish and pet food manufacturers and processed sea-food producers, with a strong marketing and sales network worldwide across the globe. This strategic partnership provides Avanti with the technical know-how in feed formulation and shrimp processing, and access to its global marketing network. Avanti Feeds has a healthy cash balance of Rs. 61 crores with minimal debt repayment requirementas onMarch 31, 2021. Cash flow from operations continued to be robust at Rs. 383 crores owing to increased scale and robust working capital management which is sufficient to fund dividend payments and modest capex requirements. Revival in shrimp prices in its key market, USA, augurs well for shrimp process/feed business as higher shrimp prices translate to better profitability. Higher volatility in shrimp prices and swings in profitability will affect smaller players in shrimp exports and transfer market share to organized players like Avanti feeds. The company is also exposed to raw material risk but has exhibited an ability to manage raw material price volatility effectively. 

Balrampur Chini Mills

Balrampur Chini serves in the Indian sugar industry, which is the world’s largest consumer and second largest producer of sugar in the world. Sugar demand is expected to grow on the back of GDP growth, rising disposable incomes and increasing demand for processed foods through modern retail. The company derives a majority of its revenues from Sugar production of about 80%, followed by Distillery business, which contributes about  20% of the revenues and co-generation. Of the three segments, the Distillery segment generates the highest EBIT margins at 41.3% followed by the Co-generation segment at 12.5% and Sugar segment at 6.2% as of FY21. Due to declining margins from sugar, the company is de-risking by reducing dependance on the sugar business. Balrampur is the second largest sugar manufacturing company in India with a cumulative crushing capacity of 77,500 tonnes of cane per day and distillery capacity of 560 KLPD. The company reported an operating margins of 15% in FY22. The substantial capacity allows the company to capitalise on the benefits stemming from economies of scale, comprehensive cane management guide provided to farmers ensures timely supply of superior quality cane and stringent operational control enabled the company to produce superior variety of sugar and improved the cane handling system facilitating faster cane crushing and lowering turnaround time. This has resulted in stupendous shareholder returns with a RoNW of 19.4% while the ROCE stands at 15.9% 16.1% as of FY22. To reduce export dependency for sugar and cut imports of fuels, the government preponed its target of achieving 20% ethanol-blending to 2025 (2030 earlier). With an existing capacity of 520 KLPD and capacity addition of 320 KLPD, Balrampur Chini will have the highest ethanol generating capacity of 840 KLPD. Given a sustained increase in ethanol production and steady growth in sugar, Balrampur Chini is expected to deliver a sustained improvement in revenues and margins. Decline in sugar production may impact revenue and act as a key risk. Further, any change in government policies related to ethanol blending would impact the profitability of the company. Another crucial factor is the season, since sugarcane is very sensitive to rain; a low volume of rain can affect the harvest and thereby negatively impact the production of sugar as well as distillery products out of sugarcane. Rising input costs and sugarcane costs can also impact the margins earned by the company.

Bharat Rasayan

Agrochemicals are chemicals that help boost crop productivity through prevention of destruction of crops by pests such as insects, weeds, fungus, etc. The global economy, in general, and Indian, in particular, is facing a multitude of challenges such as to feed an ever-growing population, reducing arable land bank and dealing with adverse climatic changes. Under such circumstances, the traditional methods of growing more crops are rendered inadequate. There is a growing acceptance to launch advanced agrochemical solutions to achieve higher field productivity. Indian agriculture is on a growth path with an increase in investments and private funding in the past few years. The sector is expected to grow with better momentum in the next few years owing to an increase in investment in agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation facilities, warehousing and cold storage. Factors such as reduced transaction costs, time, better port gate management and fiscal incentives will also contribute to this upward trend. Furthermore, the increased use of genetically modified crops is also expected to better the yield of Indian farmers. Advancement in agriculture and allied sectors is positive for inclusive economic growth at the national level. India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses in the world. As farmers find themselves in a more comfortable situation, the agriculture sector will gather further momentum. Apart from the loyal customer base that the Company is enjoying since the last several years now, many newer domestic as well as overseas customers are added to the portfolio of the Company during the year & the same is expected to increase in the near future due to Company’s commitment of supplying high quality products in a time bound manner. Moving ahead, the Company remains poised to implement key initiatives across functions to enable itself to face market challenges and leverage the emerging opportunities. It remains focused on improving revenue growth and profitability, driven by high growth segments such as seeds and nutrients. Bharat Rasayan has delivered strong financial performance over the years while delivering a strong Net Profit growth of 27% CAGR and Sales Growth of 16% the past 5 years. The company has delivered a strong ROE of 24%. It has also been growing its operating profit margins from 6% in 2010 to 20% currently, driven by cost optimization and operational efficiency. It trades at fair valuations of 23.3x P/E given the strong growth delivered by the company. Despite the strong growth drivers, Indian agrochemicals industry faces challenges in terms of low awareness among a large number of end users spread across the geography. Managing inventory and distribution costs is a challenge for the industry players in the wake of volatility in the business environment.

Bayer CropScience

Bayer CropScience Limited, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, Germany, is a leading player in the Indian agrochemical industry which benefits from healthy relationships with farmers, extensive product portfolio and strong distribution network. The Company’s operations include Crop Protection, Seeds & Traits, Environmental Science and Digital Farming. It has distinguished itself by leveraging proven capabilities in innovation-driven solutions, sophisticated processes and technologies, world-class services, and superior business models. This can be witnessed by the overall returns in terms of 31.3% ROCE as of FY21. The company has also strengthened its product offering and growth prospects with the merger of Monsanto India Limited into Bayer CropScience Limited. After the merger, Monsanto products are now a part of BCSL’s product portfolio and continue to be marketed under their earlier brand names. The integration brings together two highly complementary businesses creating an innovation engine for Indian agriculture. Indian farmers can benefit from BCSL’s innovative crop protection products and Monsanto’s expertise in seeds and traits and digital farming applications. The Company’s long-term goal is to unlock the growth potential of Indian agriculture as a global producer and exporter of food, feed, and fiber. Bayer CropScience has collaborated with more than 45 agricultural research universities and institutions for generating data of more than 275 registration trials. This data would help it in securing more product registrations in the years ahead. On financials, the company has given a steady performance, with ROE at 23.7% for FY22.. Bayer is virtually debt free and maintains strong liquidity with cash and cash equivalents at Rs. 581 crores as of Sep 2022. The stock also trades at a P/E of 39.5 which indicates a fair valuation for the company. COVID-19 did not have an adverse impact on the company’s operations, as it falls in the necessary product category, which, in fact, has helped it during the crisis. Further, its Monsanto connection has helped increase its distribution reach, and should add to topline and profitability. The company could also benefit from the nutrient-based subsidy announced by the government recently. Bayer could face a risk from seasonality in India which could affect its growth and sales as a bad year could result in lower demand for fertilisers. The company also faces the risk of farmers not adapting to their hybrid seeds offering, despite them being of high quality.

Coromandel International

Coromandel International is one of the leading private sector fertilizer producers in the country with a significant presence in South India. They are one of the leading producers of industry-leading-grade fertilizers. The country sees 15-25% crop loss due to pests, diseases, and inadequate CPC usage and is coupled with the per hectare consumption of agrochemicals in India at just 0.6 kgs as compared to 5-7 kgs in US and 11-12 kgs in Japan. The low CPC (Crop Protection Chemicals) penetration, increasing labor cost and climate change are likely to act as the main growth drivers for CPC in India. With close to 3.5 million-ton capacity of fertilizers, Coromandel accounts for about 22% of the domestic production capacity in India. Manufacturing units are located at Vizag, Kakinada, and Ennore. The plants have the flexibility to produce 13 products from multiple rock and acid combinations. The Company enjoys a considerable market presence in Southern, Eastern, and Western regions in the country. Along with this, the company has Retail and Specialty Nutrients businesses which complement its fertilizer business. Specialty nutrients are one of the fastest-growing agri-input segments in India. The business comprises Water-Soluble Fertiliser, Secondary Nutrients, and Micronutrients. The company is also the No. 1 organic manure player in India and has the largest rural retail chain across the country. Above normal monsoon augurs well for higher fertilizer demand in the Kharif season. An acquisition in the CPC space would be positive as the business has high growth potential and also has a better margin profile than the fertilizer business. The primary risk it faces is from environmental hazards wherein its products may contain harmful ingredients which may not only affect the crops, but also humans. Additionally, the company may see lower demand due to poor monsoon or regulatory changes which may impact growth momentum. Adverse variation in raw material prices and delay in the ability to pass on price hikes coupled with adverse currency fluctuations may impact margins. From the start of 2020, the stock market and the economy have been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Various economies are unsure of the end given the uncertainty in vaccine effectiveness. Never before has the globe witnessed a standstill and without a doubt some sectors will take time to get back to pre-covid levels. But agriculture stands better in order to mitigate the impact. Agricultural and allied sectors as a broader theme may aid to navigate these turbulent times. Therefore, with agriculture being shielded from COVID-19 to a great extent, the demand for agrochemicals, fertilizers etc. is expected to remain intact for now. While the agriculture sector provides long term growth headroom, the sector is not devoid of risks, some of which are:

Risks to consider before investing in Best agriculture stocks

Watch our video to analyse & pick Best Agriculture Stocks for investments



Model Portfolio

If this is a standalone thematic portfolio of only agriculture specific stocks, you would need a total of Rs. 36,595 for this portfolio as of December 28, 2022.
Company Name Weightage CMP (as on December 28, 2022) Quantity Total (Rs.)
PI Industries Ltd. 19% 3,446 2 6892
Bharat Rasayan Ltd. 27% 9,855.00 1 9855
UPL Ltd. 10% 723 5 3615
Coromandel International Ltd. 7% 895 3 2685
Bayer CropScience Ltd. 13% 4,862.00 1 4862
Avanti Feeds Ltd. 13% 393 12 4716
Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd. 11% 397 10 3970
100% Total 36595

Detailed overview of the Best Agriculture stocks to buy now in India

The table below covers some of the most important factors while evaluating Best Agriculture stocks such as the return ratios – RoE, operating margins, sales and earning growth, market cap, etc.
Sr. No. Company Name BSE Scrip Code  NSE Symbol  CMP (as on December 28, 2021) Rating Industry Market Cap (in Crs) Promoter Holding  Compounded Sales Growth (5 years) Compounded Profit Growth (5 years) Operating Profit Margin (%) Price to Earnings (times) Price to Book (times) EV/EBITDA Debt to equity (times) Dividend Yield (%) Return on Equity (%) Return on Capital Employed (FY22) (%) 
1 PI Industries Ltd. 523642 PIIND 3,446 3.0 Agrochemicals 52,278 46.09% 18.00% 13.00% 22.80% 51.60 7.98 34.40 0.04 0.18% 14.70% 17.30%
2 Bharat Rasayan Ltd. 590021 BHARATRAS 9,855 0.5 Agrochemicals 4,095 75.00% 16.00% 27.00% 17.50% 23.20 4.90 15.70 0.14 0.02% 23.90% 28.30%
3 UPL Ltd. 512070 UPL 723 0.5 Agrochemicals 54,284 28.00% 23.00% 17.00% 20.60% 12.80 2.18 7.69 1.34 1.39% 16.70% 15.60%
4 DCM Shriram Ltd. 523367 DCMSHRIRAM 863 0.5 Chemical Manufacturing 13,464 66.50% 11.00% 14.00% 17.40% 11.60 2.26 6.42 0.27 1.75% 20.60% 24.50%
5 Coromandel International Ltd. 506395 COROMANDEL 895 3.0 Fertilizers 26,314 57.50% 14.00% 26.00% 10.60% 13.40 3.45 9.34 0.22 1.38% 26.60% 34.70%
6 Bayer CropScience Ltd. 506285 BAYERCROP 4,862 0.5 Agrochemicals 21,849 71.40% 11.00% 16.00% 17.70% 32.70 7.47 22.10 0.03 2.09% 23.70% 30.90%
7 Godrej Agrovet Ltd. 540743 GODREJAGRO 474 0.5 Agriculture 9,099 74.00% 11.00% 14.00% 6.77% 25.60 4.06 14.00 0.72 2.05% 19.30% 18.00%
8 Avanti Feeds Ltd. 512573 AVANTIFEED 393 2.0 Aquaculture 5,354 43.20% 14.00% 0.00% 6.75% 20.60 2.73 11.80 0 1.63% 11.70% 17.30%
9 Kaveri Seed Company Ltd. 532899 KSCL 520 0.5 Agriculture 3,033 57.45% 6.00% 7.00% 24.70% 12.70 2.00 11.20 0 0.77% 14.50% 15.10%
10 BalrampurChini Mills Ltd. 500038 BALRAMCHIN 397 0.5 Sugar 8,092 42.42% 7.00% -5.00% 9.78% 27.40 2.89 15.90 0.18 0.64% 17.30% 16.10%
11 Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Ltd. 500097 DALMIASUG 377 0.5 Sugar 3,052 74.90% 12.00% 10.00% 11.20% 17.60 1.22 6.84 0.17 1.09% 13.30% 13.40%
12 Tata Consumer Products Ltd. 500800 TATACONSUM 781 2.0 Coffee and Tea 72,542 34.70% 13.00% 20.00% 13.80% 69.60 4.80 37.00 0.09 0.78% 6.51% 9.61%

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