Monheim, Germany
July 12, 2006
Bayer CropScience
continues to expand business in the growing hybrid rice seeds
markets in Asia. Arize® is the global umbrella brand under which
the company sells its high-yield hybrid rice products which
yield consistently 20% above the best performing inbred
varieties. Whereas 60% of the rice area in China is already
hybrid rice, India and Philippines, with a share of 2% and 8%
hybrid rice area respectively, offer opportunities for a growing
business.
Being already one of the market leaders in hybrid rice seeds in
these two countries, the company has opened two new seed
processing plants in the last months.
Located at Medchal, India, the first of these plants, with
state-of-the-art facilities for hybrid rice seed processing was
inaugurated in May 2006. The plant can process 4000 tons of
seeds in a 40-day season (100 tons a day). At the inauguration,
Clive Pegg, the Managing Director of the Indian seed company
Proagro, a subsidiary of Bayer CropScience, said, “Arize can
fulfill aspirations of Indian farmers by giving high yields and
excellent returns on investments. Arize portfolio in India,
including the outperforming hybrid Arize 6444, has allowed
Proagro to be the market leader on the Indian hybrid rice market
for years. With the commissioning of this new processing
facility, Proagro will be able to further supply high quality
hybrid rice seeds to Indian farmers.”
The second rice seed conditioning plant was inaugurated by Bayer
CropScience in the Philippines on June 15, 2006. Located in
Tagum City, Davao del Norte, the plant is equipped with a
hi-tech electronic packing system that will allow further
efficient supply of Arize Bigante seeds to rice farmers in
Visayas and Mindanao. “With the opening of this rice seed
processing plant in the Philippines, Bayer CropScience can
fulfill its aspiration of bringing further high-yielding Arize
Bigante hybrid rice seeds to the Filipinos farmers” said Damien
Plan, BioScience Public Affairs Manager Asia-Pacific. “This
investment confirms our commitment to the Filipino rice
community. Together with the Department of Agriculture we are
moving forward towards a common goal, the success of hybrid rice
in the Philippines.”
The inauguration of these new rice seed processing plants is
part of a long-term strategy of Bayer CropScience for the hybrid
rice business. Bayer CropScience will continue to expand its
business in the growing hybrid rice seeds markets in Asia and
Latin America. The company plans to launch its Arize® hybrid
rice seeds in Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam Bangladesh, China and
Pakistan within the next two years, with a larger plan to
commercialize Arize® hybrids in more than 10 countries by 2010.
For more information on Arize® please
click here
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