NEWS
IN THE NEWS
COMPANIES ■ Makhteshim-Agan Industries’ crop chemistry for crops. The research will
protection sales rose by 2.5% to US$1.6 study Plant Impact’s Alethea product,
■ The sales gap between the world’s two billion in 2006. Group earnings before which is based on natural chemicals,
leading agrochemical companies narrowed interest, taxes, depreciation and and use this information to develop the
in 2006 in Agrow’s dollar-based ranking. amortisation fell by 39% to US$232.9 company’s next generation of products.
Bayer CropScience retained its dominant million. The company has set out a plan to
position despite a 4% drop in agrochemical recover profit margins. The plan will give ■ Monsanto has dismissed as “baseless”
sales, while Syngenta edged closer to greater commercial independence to the the “recycled allegations” of the American
its rival with a slight rise in revenues. company’s operations in its major markets ■ Indian company Punjab Chemicals Corn Growers Association (ACGA) about
A similarly modest sales rise moved of Brazil, the EU and the US. In addition, a and Crop Protection has decided to enter anti-competitive practices in the market
Dow AgroSciences ahead of BASF, which group-wide supply organisation is to be into a US joint venture agreement with for the herbicide, Roundup (glyphosate),
suffered a 7% revenue decline. set up to improve procurement, production US company Source Dynamics. The new and glyphosate-tolerant Roundup Ready
and logistics. company, PSD Chemicals, will be based crops. The ACGA filed a lawsuit against
■ FMC has acquired exclusive rights in New Jersey and will sell and distribute Monsanto in February in the US District
to Sankyo Agro’s triazole fungicide, ■ Adverse weather conditions, the agrochemicals. Court for Delaware.
simeconazole. The deal allows FMC to weakness of Brazil’s farming economy,
develop, register, market and sell stand- and increased competition from generic ■ Increased market share in the maize EUROPE
alone and combination products containing suppliers resulted in lower crop protection seed sector and greater penetration
simeconazole globally, except for several sales for Bayer CropScience in 2006. The of triple-stack lines are key factors in
countries in Asia and the Middle East. company’s annual crop protection sales Monsanto’s plans for profit growth over the
fell by 4.7% to €4.6 billion (US$5.8 billion), next four years. The company has set a
■ Makhteshim-Agan Industries (MAI) while sales of its Environmental Science goal of a gross profit margin of 51-53% by
has acquired Bayer CropScience’s business rose by 2.9% to €714 million and 2010, compared with 48% in fiscal 2006.
organophosphate insecticide, Guthion BioScience sales increased by 4.3%
(azinphos-methyl). MAI had already to €342 million. ■ Sumitomo Chemical is targeting
purchased European rights to the active production efficiency and specialty
ingredient from Bayer in 2002. ■ Significantly lower sales of its maize products as part of its new three-year ■ The European Food Safety Authority has
soil insecticides contributed to a 10.4% plan for its agrochemical business. The concluded that proposed temporary EU-
■ Italian agrochemical company Isagro’s decline in revenues for American Vanguard company is also expanding its business to wide maximum residue limits (MRLs) for
subsidiary, AgriFormula, has reached a (Amvac) to US$55.1 million in the fourth downstream products and the supply of a 144 pesticide active ingredients could pose
preliminary agreement to sell its formulation quarter of 2006. However, for the year as “total solution” service, starting in Japan. a potential consumer risk and may have
plant in Paganica, Italy, for €3.5 million a whole, Amvac’s sales were up by 2.1% to to be lowered. The temporary MRLs are an
(US$4.7 million) to an unnamed buyer. US$193.8 million. ■ Nufarm is expanding its business interim step in the ongoing programme to
in eastern Europe, after it opened an harmonise MRLs across Europe.
■ Monsanto and BASF have entered into a ■ Nufarm suffered a 57.5% drop in office in Bucharest, Romania, last year.
research and commercialisation agreement operating profit to Aus$13.9 million The Romanian business focuses on the ■ Further calls for the EU to consider
over methods to control soybean cyst (US$18.1 million) in the six months to development and registration of products. agrochemical use-reduction targets were
nematodes (Heterodera glycines). January 31st 2007. The fall was due to a “We are working on nine products for made in a meeting in March organised by
slump in Nufarm’s Australian business, the herbicide, fungicide, insecticide and the European Parliament’s Socialist Group.
due to drought, and a reduced contribution seed treatment segments and expect 3-4 The hearing discussed the European
from its 49.9%-owned Brazilian affiliate, approvals a year,” Nufarm explains. Commission’s proposed thematic strategy
Agripec. Nufarm’s sales, which do not on sustainable pesticide use and its
include Agripec’s, fell by 4% to Aus$580 ■ DuPont crop genetics scientists have proposals to revise the EU agrochemical
million. started working at temporarily leased registration Directive (91/414).
facilities near to the company’s planned
■ Bayer CropScience plans to increase research and development centre in ■ Further decisions were made in
its annual sales in China to €100 million Hyderabad, India. The new Rs 1,000 million March on existing active ingredients
(US$133 million) “in the medium term”. (US$23 million) DuPont Knowledge Center in the second round of the EU review.
The company’s crop protection sales in the is due to be completed in 2008. Dow AgroSciences said it was “very
■ The US pest control and cleaning country were €65 million in 2006, up by 46% disappointed” about the EU decision not
company, Ecolab, has acquired the Chinese on 2005. Its growth strategy focuses on ■ UK crop protection company Plant to re-register the herbicide, trifluralin.
pest control firm, Green Harbour. Green the introduction of new active ingredients, Impact has entered into a research However, decisions to re-register the
Harbour provides pest elimination services formulations and mixtures, as well as partnership with the Lancaster insecticide, fipronil, and the nematicide/
in Hong Kong and elsewhere in China. expanding agrochemical production. Environment Centre on anti-stress insecticide, ethoprophos, were welcomed
 May 2007  •  www.agrowmag.com
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