Agrimatco For Agriculture: Countering Counterfeits
16 December 2008 Agrimatco — Agriculture Materials Company — is far more than just a local supplier; it has more than 42 branches across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Europe, Central Asia, China, and most recently, Vietnam. However, Agrimatco believes in service at the local level: “Point of Sale” shops in the countryside maximize distribution of products and provide growers with services after the sale, but also help the company by gathering information about the area. Most of the company’s sales — around 60% to 70%, according to Hazem M. Ghobashi, head of the Agrochemicals unit — are pesticides; seeds make up another 25%, and fertilizers comprise the rest.
Agrimatco’s policy is to supply the best products on the market, and to deal with its customers with honesty and loyalty. It tries to be close to the growers, to teach them about products so they can use them correctly to maximize profits from the crops, and can ask dealers for the products they need. This, says Ghobashi, “creates demand from the bottom, not from the top.”
It is this policy of advertising and selling products vigorously but without misrepresentation that Agrimatco relies upon to earn its customers’ trust, especially now that smuggling and counterfeit products in Egypt have become a growing problem. Agrimatco is fighting back, educating farmers through seminars held at the company’s experimental stations, as well as flyers and field days. “We have to be more and more close to the farmer, to educate him about abusive or harmful products,” says Ghobashi.
Get The Newsletter Today!
