Global Agrochemical Market Weekly Report, April 26, 2021

2. Updates from Top Companies 2.1 Corporate News • Bayer is expanding its Carbon Program to provide farmers with opportunities to generate additional income and adopt climate-smart agricultural practices—improving soil health to boost yields and profitability. The enhanced program for 2021–2022 extends eligibility to growers who adopted no-till or cover cropping on their fields on or after January 1, 2012. In addition to the original nine eligible U.S. states, eight more states—including Wisconsin and South Dakota—have been added. • Bayer has partnered with Kebotix to accelerate the development of innovative crop protection tools through faster, data-driven systems—addressing the recent scarcity of newly commercialized active ingredients. • Syngenta has signed a distribution agreement with FMC to market FMC’s novel biological seed treatment Draco (containing *Bacillus licheniformis* and *Bacillus subtilis*) for corn and soybeans in Canada. Draco targets key diseases and nematodes during critical early stages of germination and seedling growth. • Syngenta Brazil plans to increase the use of resin-based pesticide packaging this year, aiming to apply it to over one-third of its pesticide products to advance agricultural sustainability. • Corteva recently announced its voluntary withdrawal of its EPA registration application in the U.S. for a dicamba choline salt herbicide. This marks the company’s second decision in 2021 to abandon dicamba: in February, Corteva had already discontinued its existing dicamba brand FeXapan. Going forward, Corteva will focus most of its market attention on the Enlist cropping system. • Corteva and Symborg have entered into a multi-year agreement covering microbial nitrogen-fixing products in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Under the agreement, Symborg grants Corteva exclusive distribution rights to its endophytic bacterial symbiont *Methylobacterium*, which enables plants to obtain nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. • Corteva recently announced an investment of nearly €13 million to expand its production facility in Afumati, Romania, accelerating growth of its sunflower seed business across Europe. Construction is underway, with operations scheduled to commence in early August—timed to coincide with the sunflower harvest season. Upon completion, the new facility will handle cleaning, processing, and packaging of sunflower seeds. • Nufarm has acquired the cotton growth regulator Pentia from BASF. Starting in 2021, Pentia will be exclusively supplied by Nufarm. Pentia has demonstrated strong performance in increasing cotton yield. • Nufarm and Farm Hand Australia have jointly launched the herbicide Terrad’or in the Australian market—the first such launch. Terrad’or contains the active ingredient flumioxazin and belongs to Herbicide Group 14. It has received full registration approval from Australia’s APVMA. Terrad’or exhibits excellent efficacy against numerous broadleaf weeds and annual ryegrass (a grass weed). • Nippon Kayaku and Certis Europe are jointly developing Effeeda® (fenquinotrione), a novel triketone herbicide with a unique mode of action for cereals and rice. The next step is commercial launch in the European market.

Century-Old Seed Giant Corteva Splits into Two

Corteva’s solid financial foundation—evidenced by a 4.8% three-year revenue growth rate, a 14.68% operating margin, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14—provides ample confidence for its transformation. Driven by growing demands for food security and climate resilience, the company’s growth trajectory is clear. Analysts project its annual revenue growth will reach 3.1%, with operating margins rising from 8.6% to 12.2%, and net earnings potentially reaching $2.3 billion by 2028. Although the spin-off strategy holds promise, Corteva’s path to separation presents both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, the company must confront weakened synergies arising from business separation, transaction execution costs amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, and heightened competitive pressure and market volatility facing both newly independent entities in their respective domains. On the other hand, the spin-off will grant unprecedented strategic flexibility to both the new Corteva and SpinCo: the former can fully commit to the expansive biologicals sector, while the latter can concentrate on core seed technologies such as gene editing. This focused operational model not only enables more precise capital allocation and more agile market responsiveness, but also allows investors to clearly distinguish the stable value of the crop protection business from the high-growth potential of the seed business. Amid agriculture’s deep structural transformation, this spin-off represents both a departure from traditional diversified models and a pivotal strategic move—leveraging structural reorganization to secure long-term competitive advantage. #SmartSeeds Global Lens The Fourth Wave of Seed Industry M&A Has Begun The maxim “Science and technology are the primary productive forces” finds profound validation in the agrochemical and seed industries. Globally, three major waves of mergers and acquisitions have progressively shaped today’s integrated “seed + pesticide” industry landscape. By bundling seeds with complementary crop protection products, companies have achieved full-value-chain integration and built significant synergies. Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto and Dow’s merger with DuPont to form Corteva exemplify this model. During the third wave, Chinese agricultural capital seized the opportunity, with domestic firms emulating the “Monsanto model.” Yet most ultimately failed due to shortcomings in business models and localized operational capabilities. Now, has the fourth wave of seed industry M&A begun? The author believes it already has—and industry structure is poised for another reshaping. In May 2025, BASF disclosed that its seed business accounted for nearly 22% of total sales and announced plans to further expand its seed presence across Asia and globally, targeting an independent listing around 2027. Meanwhile, KWS and Limagrain sold their North American joint venture, AgReliant Genetics, to GDM—a leader in plant genetics. Additionally, Bayer faces mounting pressure to spin off its Crop Science division, while BASF is divesting its Agricultural Solutions business. Through spin-offs, divestitures, or independent operation of high-potential businesses, industry giants are restructuring their organizations—aiming to compete more nimbly and precisely in the next round of industry competition and consolidation. Collectively, these strategic adjustments point toward a central trend: capital markets are reassessing the valuation models for agri-tech enterprises. Traditional diversification premiums are giving way to clearer valuations and specialized advantages derived from focused business portfolios. #SmartSeeds Global Lens

Corteva Agrees to End Pesticide Loyalty Program in FTC Settlement

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Corteva Inc. will dismantle its pesticide-distributor loyalty program and pay $35 million to settle FTC antitrust claims. The agreement aims to improve farmer access to lower-cost generic crop protection products.

chemweek

2026-09-30

Corteva Agrees to End Pesticide Loyalty Program in FTC Settlement

Corteva Agrees to End Pesticide Loyalty Program in FTC Settlement

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