Bayer Zeroes In on Brazil Soybeans
6 March 2013 
Bayer CropScience said it will expand in Latin America on the back of a 20% rise in sales in Brazil and Argentina last year, and announced two new initiatives expected to build its soybean business in Brazil.
“Latin America is a strategic region for us, and we are positioning ourselves for strong growth in this market,” Chief Executive Liam Condon said this week. “We expect a positive development and further expansion in 2013 for Latin America.”
Bayer posted 2012 sales of more than $2.7 billion in the Latin America/Africa/Middle East region, up about 15% from 2011. Brazil is the largest market worldwide for the company after the United States. The broader Latin America/Africa/Middle East region accounts for about a quarter of Bayer CropScience’s global sales of about $10.9 billion.
New collaboration and acquisitions in soybeans, wheat
The company also acquired the soy germplasm bank from Melhoramento Agropastoril Ltda., which operates in Cascavel in the Brazilian State of Paraná. It also agreed to acquire the soybean seed company Wehrtec and the soy business of Agricola Wehrmann, both based in Cristalina, Goiás, Brazil, centered in an important soybean area.
These moves are geared toward meeting increased demand from soybean farmers in the country, where productivity per hectare has skyrocketed more than 37% since 1990, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Financial terms of the deals were not dislclosed.
Bayer also extended its collaboration with the Brazilian wheat breeding company Biotrigo, based in Passo Fundo in the region Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.
“These initiatives underline the strategic role of Brazil in our growth ambitions,” Condon said. “We are developing a unique global platform for wheat to offer farmers tailor-made varieties with improved yields and other sought-after characteristics.”
Tripled Brazilian investment in three years
Marc Reichardt, head of Bayer CropScience’s operations in Latin America, stressed the positive outlook for the region: “We are continuously creating jobs focusing on Marketing and Sales and also on the expansion of our Seeds business.” In Brazil, Bayer said it boosted the number of full-time-jobs by about 20% last year and is planning a similar increase this year.
“Our long-lasting investments in Brazil, e.g. in high-tech machinery for seed treatment, will continue to grow. In 2013, we will invest almost three times as much compared to just three years before,” said Reichardt. “As a global agricultural powerhouse, Brazil’s agro-economy has a key role in helping ensure world food supply.”
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