PANNA: News Note: 2001 Top Seven Agrochemical Companies

The gap in sales between the world's seven largest agrochemical companies has narrowed, according to 2001 sales reports published in Agrow: World Crop Protection News. Syngenta continued to maintain highest revenues, with nearly US$5.4 billion in pesticide and seed sales. However, Bayer's purchase of Aventis CropScience (formerly Rhone-Poulenc and Hoechst/AgrEvo) will increase Bayer's 2002 sales to over US$6 billion.

BASF, a German multinational, reported the highest revenue increase of 39.4%, primarily the result of its 2000 acquisition of Cyanamid, a U.S.-based agrochemical company. In 2001, BASF sales increased in North America by 65%, in Europe by 45% and in Latin America by 6.5%. Sales of BASF herbicides increased by 47.3%, fungicides increased by 27.5% and insecticide and other pesticides increased by 53.5%.

Dow AgroSciences also reported a significant increase in sales (11%), 9% of which is attributed to its recent purchase of Rohm and Haas, a U.S.-based agrochemical company.

Bayer and Aventis CropScience both reported steady increases in sales of herbicides and insecticides in European, Latin American and North American markets. Bayer's top selling insecticides, Confidor, Gaucho, Admire and Provado (all based on imidacloprid), increased in sales by 5% to US$540 million. Sales of Bayer's fungicide, Folicur/Raxil (tebuconazole) also increased by 5% to US$240 million.

Sales of Aventis' herbicides increased by 8.1%, insecticides increased by 7.5%, and fungicide stayed at 2000 levels. Aventis' top four pesticides -- herbicides, Hussar (iodosulfuron-methyl sodium), Balance (isoxaflutole) and Liberty/Basta (glufosinate-ammonium) and insecticide, Regent (fipronil) -- accounted for 47% of its 2001 agrochemical sales.

Despite maintaining the largest overall sales, Syngenta (formerly Novartis and AstraZeneca) suffered the largest decrease of the top seven companies in 2001. The company lost money in Europe, as a result of Brazilian currency exchanges and Argentinean credit policies, and because of reduced crop acreage in the United States. Syngenta seed sales dropped overall by 2.1% to US$938 million. However, sales of genetically engineered seed continued to increase and totaled 17% of seed sales.

Monsanto suffered overall 2001 revenue losses of 3.3%, while sales of its flagship herbicide, Roundup (glyphosate), dropped by 8% to US$2.4 billion. Sales of Roundup decreased most significantly in Latin America and Asia.

Sources: Agrow: World Crop Protection News, March 1, 2002, March 15, 2002, March 29, 2002 and June 28, 2002.