The domestic lab chemicals and reagents market is poised to grow at a rate of 2-3 per cent for the next five years, predict experts in the business.

The current growth of the industry is at a rate of 12 to 13 per cent annually for the past few years and the rate of growth is expected to reach 15-18 per cent in the coming years. Of the Rs.600 crore odd domestic market, domestic manufacturers control about Rs.390-400 crore and the leading players in this segment includes names like Ranbaxy's Rankem, Qualigens Fine Chemicals - a division of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) India, Merck Ltd., SD Fine Chemicals etc. Apart from these players, about 15-20 unorganised lab chemical manufacturers operate in the Indian market.

It is estimated that about a dozen odd overseas manufacturers are active in India with a combined turnover of about Rs 200 - 210 crore. Leading players include Acros Organics - a Fisher Scientific worldwide company from Belgium, Mallikroft, AccuStandard, Sigma- Aldrich, Lancaster Synthesis which is part of Alfa Aesar, Mallinckrodt Baker Inc of USA, Avocado Research Chemicals, Fisher, TCI of Japan etc. Since most of these companies offer a wide array of products, which are mostly different from that manufactured by the domestic companies, business prospects are bright for all the players.

Quality is the criterion for success in this business. Tie-ups and strategic alliance with global leaders help domestic companies increase their business. For example, Rankem, a strategic business unit of Ranbaxy, imports over 30,000 rare chemicals for organic chemistry from Acros Organics, over 55,000 screening compounds and 4,000 highly reactive building blocks and innovative organic molecules from Maybridge and a range of analytical, high purity solvents and biopharmaceuticals from Mallinckrodt Baker Inc, USA. This has enabled Rankem to address the hi-tech needs of researchers in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environmental analysis, electronics and other industries, notes company sources.

Indian lab chemical manufacturers are also eyeing the export markets and currently Indian manufacturers exports products worth Rs.70-100 crore. This is also poised to grow in the coming years, say industry sources.