Mahadhan Agritech to set up water-soluble fertilizer plant in joint venture with Israel’s Haifa Group

Mahadhan Agritech, a fully owned subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation, plans to set up water-soluble fertilizers plant in joint venture with Israel-based Haifa Group. 

The unit could come up in a port-based State, mainly Gujarat, Maharashtra or Karnataka, said the company’s COO, Naresh Deshmukh. “The proposal is between the drawing board and reality. Whatever homework, calculations, groundwork, understanding of the global market, how the demand-supply will be and what kind of potential India will have, we have done everything,” he told businessline in an online interaction. 

Mahadhan, which produces one million tonnes of fertilizers, has come up with this proposal as there is no manufacturing facility for water-soluble fertilizers in India. Water-soluble fertilizers marketed in the country are imported either from Israel, Europe or China, he said.

“We will come up with this facility for water-soluble fertilizers as there is a good demand from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which make up 75 per cent of the consumption. These states produce fruits, vegetables and flowers,” the company’s COO said. 

Enormous potential

 Compared with fertilisers marketed in bags and applied to the soil, water-soluble fertilizers are twice as effective at 80-90 per cent. Because it goes to the rhizosphere of the root zone perfectly, all nutrients are available to the crop.

Taking into account that 6 million hectares are under drip irrigation, Deshmukh said there is potential theoretically to market 1.5 million tonnes of water-soluble fertilizers. 

With only 20 per cent of the farmers using these fertilizers, as they are priced higher and do not qualify for subsidy. However, the crop yield and quality improve. But given the increase in population and the export potential, Mahadan decided to go in for capital expenditure in setting up the plant, the company’s COO said. 

Last year, Mahadhan, which has its presence in all the States barring the eastern part, formed a partnership with the Haifa Group, a leading global firm in speciality fertilizers, to market water-soluble fertilizers under its Solutek brand name. The company associated itself with the Israeli firm as there is good demand for quality speciality fertilizers for fruits and vegetables.

Backward integration

The company, which has major production facilities at Taloja (Maharashtra) and Panipat (Haryana), is looking at a global tie-up for the backward integration of its bulk fertilizer production of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. 

Mahadhan, which has 4,000 channel partners and caters to the niche speciality fertilizers, came up with two crop-specific solutions to take care of all “pain points” of farmers last year. 

The products, Croptek and Solutek, provide crop-specific granules and crop-specific solutions. They have 8 nutrient combinations that crops require. The fertilizer solutions have been recognised by the Union Department of Fertilizer under the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO). 

Farmers are responding well to these products, with the company’s sales doubling in the past year. As a result, it has now set a sales target of 3.2 lakh tonnes for the current fiscal, he said.

Extending products’ reach

“Interestingly, companies such as Gujarat State Fertilizer Company, Indo Rama and SPIC have reached out to us to supply the fertilizer for their pilot programmes. There is awareness of the solutions. It gives us the understanding of how good the product is,” Deshmukh said. 

Enthused by the success of these products, Mahadhan has extended the product for pulses and soybeans. The solutions have been registered with the Department of Chemicals and Fertilizers under the FCO.

Initially, Croptek was introduced for onion, sugarcane, cotton, corn, groundnut and soybean. Now the speciality chemical can be used in mustard, castor and pulses, considering the government’s focus on oilseeds and pulses productivity, said the company’s COO.

Again, Solutek, introduced for grapes and pomegranates, has now been extended for bananas and tomatoes. 

Rabi prospects

“Tomatoes are a familiar crop in South India, especially Krishnagari (Tamil Nadu), Kolar, Bangalore (Karnataka), Chittoor, and Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh,” he said, adding that the company plans to increase its production capacity for the speciality fertilizers to 8 lakh tonnes over the next 2-3 years. 

“Our intention is to go for crop nutrition solution strategy to help farmers improve their productivity,” he said. 

On the kharif crops weather woes, Deshmukh said farmers have gone for better crop nutrition this year. For crop planted before July, there was increase in fertilizer consumption, which was exceeding supplies, he said.

“However, the rabi crops will do well,” the company’s COO added. 

Published on September 24, 2025