Reading Time: 5 minutes Forum BASF’s Forum was expected to be registered in January 2016, says Scott Hodgins, manager for BASF Canada in Mississauga, Ont. Forum is composed of an active ingredient already used in the fungicide Zampro SC — dimethomorph, from the chemical Group 45. Forum’s mode of action makes it a highly systemic fungicide for the control […] Read more
New potato protection products for 2016
China seeks food security with friendly bid for Syngenta
Reading Time: 3 minutes Basel | Reuters — China made its boldest overseas takeover move when state-owned ChemChina agreed a US$43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta on Wednesday, aiming to improve domestic food production. The largest ever foreign purchase by a Chinese firm, announced by both companies, will accelerate a shake-up in global agrochemicals and […] Read more
ChemChina said close to striking deal for Syngenta
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — China’s state-owned ChemChina is nearing a deal to buy Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for around 43 billion Swiss francs (C$59.4 billion), two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The deal, for roughly 470 Swiss francs (C$649) per share, would be the biggest cross-border deal involving a Chinese buyer and […] Read more
Syngenta still looking at different tie-ups
Reading Time: 2 minutes Zug | Reuters — Syngenta is in talks about a possible merger and is weighing a number of options, the Swiss agrichemicals group’s chairman said Wednesday. Michel Demare said last month that the crop chemicals and seeds company was in talks with China’s state-owned ChemChina, U.S. seeds giant Monsanto and others. When asked about the […] Read more
Chinese farmers illegally growing GMO corn, Greenpeace says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — Farmers are illegally growing genetically modified (GMO) corn in China’s northeast, said environmental non-profit Greenpeace on Wednesday, in a report that may generate further distrust of the government’s ability to ensure a safe food supply. Beijing has spent billions of dollars to develop GMO crops that it hopes will ensure food […] Read more
Monsanto increases job cuts as corn, chemical sales slump
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Monsanto said a souring farm economy and currency woes will push its 2016 earnings to the lower end of expectations, while a cost-cutting drive will lead the world’s largest seed company to slash more jobs. Low commodity prices also should lead to more consolidation in the agricultural sector, CEO Hugh Grant said, about […] Read more
Syngenta said talking to Monsanto, ChemChina, others
Reading Time: 2 minutes Zurich | Reuters — Swiss agrichemicals group Syngenta is in talks with Monsanto, ChemChina and other rivals but has not received a concrete takeover offer and is keeping all options open, chairman Michel Demare told a Swiss newspaper. “Given what shareholders expect for the next 12 months, going it alone is hardly possible,” he told […] Read more
ChemChina to sweeten bid for Syngenta to $44B
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — State-owned China National Chemical Corp. has raised its offer to buy Syngenta by about $2 billion, to US$44 billion, proposing a two-stage takeover of the agrochemical company, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. ChemChina has offered 470 Swiss francs (C$661) per share to buy 70 per cent of Syngenta with an option to acquire the […] Read more
Dow, DuPont to merge in deal to create chem giant
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical agreed to merge in an all-stock deal valuing the combined company at US$130 billion in a win for activist investors that could spark further consolidation in the farm chemicals industry. The deal to combine two of the biggest and oldest U.S. chemical producers is a prelude to […] Read more
USDA regulators approve new Syngenta corn trait
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Syngenta on Wednesday cleared one U.S. regulatory hurdle toward domestic marketing of corn seeds containing a trait that is genetically engineered to resist weed killers including glyphosate. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said it will no longer regulate the Syngenta Seeds corn trait known […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
