Sumitomo to Expand Herbicide Sales in Argentina
17 September 2013 
Sumitomo Chemical’s Brazilian business said it opened a branch office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a move to increase sales of its flumioxazin herbicide for soybeans.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo said it has expanded its flumioxazin production capabilities to meet a surging demand for the product, with an additional production line at its Oita Works facility in Japan coming on stream last October.
Argentina, the world’s third-largest producer of soybeans, is expected to boost output as food demand surges in emerging markets and elsewhere.
Sumitomo has a sales alliance with Australian agrochemicals company Nufarm covering 20 countries and a business collaboration with Monsanto. “It is the company’s intention that the new Buenos Aires office will play a role in expanding its sales alliance with the two companies to include Argentina,” it said.
Through its group companies, Sumitomo has entities in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Honduras.
The company has thus far worked with its Brazilian unit, Sumitomo Chemical Brazil and a local distributor, Summit Agro Argentina, to undertake the development, registration and distribution of crop protection products in Argentina.
Flumioxazin, which was developed by Sumitomo, is used mainly in the cultivation of soybeans, cotton and sugar cane. Sumitomo said it demonstrates long-lasting efficacy in suppressing the growth of weeds after spraying, thereby promoting early-stage growth of crops effectively. Flumioxazin is also effective against weeds resistant to glyphosate, which has promoted increasing demand for the product in recent years, it said.
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