MAI Builds East Europe Business

By Scott C. Lucas|14 November 2006

One of MAI’s wholly owned subsidiaries acquired 75% of Agrovita, a distribution company based in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Czech crop protection market in 2005 was approximately US $200 million in sales, according to Businesswire.com. The country has experienced sustained growth over the past few years, primarily through its growth of cereals, maize, sugarbeets, fruit, and vineyards.

MAI also has established a distribution company in Russia, to take advantage of the potential of the country’s enormous agricultural area.

Shlomo Yanai, president and CEO of MAI, said that, “The potential agrochemical market in Eastern Europe and Russia is estimated at US $1.4 billion. Acquiring the distribution company in the Czech Republic and establishing the company in Russia are additional steps in expanding the distribution of MAI’s products in Eastern Europe and Russia, and is in line with our growth strategy.” He added, “The companies in the Czech Republic and Russia join the recently opened Makhteshim Agan coordination center for Central and Eastern Europe in Budapest and the existing distribution network, comprising of companies in Poland, Hungary, and Romania, which together with our extensive product portfolio will enable us to significantly increase our group sales in this growing and important region.”