BASF, who has been operating in Ethiopia for many years, sees opportunities for industrial growth in Ethiopia. The company with approximately 122,000 employees its Group nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018.
Organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018.
The company showing its interests in Ethiopia with its high population in addition to the recent economic growth reforms.
The company supply pesticides i.e. herbicides, insecticides, fungicides for crops with the key ones being for wheat, barley, maize, and flowers.
It puts a product into a market it goes through more than 10 years of research from the synthesis of an active molecule to having a product in the market. Stringent tests are done in the various laboratories worldwide including Europe and Africa for efficacy, formulation, environmental impact, residue tests with trials in the laboratories, greenhouses and in the fields.
Once a product is produced and it sees the opportunity to have it in the country, local government regulations then apply.
In Ethiopia, the government demands that if it does field trials under local conditions in the recommended research stations for up to 3 years before they are granted registration to allow their distributors to import into Ethiopia.
Having over 80 businesses globally, BASF produces various products, the majority of which have relevance to this country. The interest from various industries for BASF products in Ethiopia is very high. Distributors or business partners are not getting any foreign currency to import chemicals from BASF to drive their industries because of foreign currency shortage.
The company opened a laboratory in Nigeria to serve the Home and Personal Care customers. Products for Africa must be tailormade locally and this will now be possible through this laboratory. In the future, more laboratories will be built across Africa to serve BASF customers. As BASF business grows in Ethiopia the opportunity for similar laboratories across industries could be evaluated and considered
“BASF sees opportunities for industrial growth in Ethiopia. Its products are great enablers for this growth in key industries such as agriculture, leather, construction, pharmaceuticals, automotive paints, home and personal care, human and animal nutrition, in insulation products like polyurethanes” Gift Mbaya, Business Lead and General Manager BASF TRO Ethiopia told Capital.
BASF recently acquired the Vegetable Seeds business increasing its Agricultural Solutions offerings to farmers. Operating under the brand Nunhems®, the successful vegetable seeds business comprises 24 crops and about 2,600 varieties. BASF Vegetable Seeds business also operates an office in Addis.