Cheminova’s pethoxamid products contribute to growth

By CnAgri Print

Development and growth is one of Cheminova's strategic focus areas. In the period up until 2015, most of the expected total revenue growth will come from increased sales of products based on active ingredients already launched in the first markets. This increased market penetration will generate growth to the tune of DKKbn 1 through registrations for sale in several additional countries and for use in different crops besides increased sales in the individual geographical markets.
 
New pethoxamid-based products

Pethoxamid is an example of one of the many active ingredients which will contribute to boosting Auriga's revenue and earnings in the coming years.
 
Today, pethoxamid is only sold in Europe, but Cheminova has plans to start developing and registering new pethoxamid-based products to countries and crops globally, where it is profitable to do so. Today, we are marketing Successor®, which is a straight formulation with pethoxamid as the only active ingredient, as well as Successor-T®, which is a mixture with the active ingredi¬ent terbuthylazine. These products are registered for use in corn, winter rape, soybeans, peas and beans.

Several differentiated pethoxamid-based mixtures are about to be introduced to the European market – the first one already next year in the form of a unique mixture targeted at winter rape.
 
Pethoxamid has contributed to strengthen Cheminova's herbicide market position in some of the largest crops in Europe, i.e. corn and rape, representing a market value of DKKbn 10. The global market for herbicides is significantly larger, with corn alone representing a global market value of more than DKKbn 20.
 
Prevents weed growth

Weeds compete with the crops for light, water and nutrients, resulting in lower yields because the crops do not have optimum growing conditions. Pethoxamid is a selective herbicide, which combats several different species of weeds. Without damaging the crop, it prevents weeds from growing and developing shoots. Thus, crops such as corn and rape are able to grow freely benefiting the grower with higher yields and thereby contributing to solve the global food challenge.

A Stähler product

Cheminova's subsidiary in Germany, Stähler, has sold products based on pethoxamid in several European countries since 2006. Before that, six years went by with applications and inclusion in the EU's Annex I, which is the list of EU-registered active ingredients. Stähler was involved in developing pethoxamid at the end of the 1990s in close collaboration with a couple of Japanese players. Stähler secured the rights to pethoxamid in Europe and the CIS countries. After Cheminova's acquisition of Stähler in 2011, the license was extended to the rest of the world so that we now have global exclusive rights to pethoxamid.

Production in Denmark

A new plant at the production site in Denmark will ensure the competitive production of pethoxamid in the coming years to meet the growing demand. Parts of the glyphosate plant have, in record time, been converted to handle the new production, with processes having been optimized from the start. Formulation and filling activities related to the pethoxamid-based end-products will also in future take place by Stähler in Germany that used to outsource the pethoxamid production to a subsupplier.