London, United Kingdom
March 10, 2008
DuPont leader discusses
prospects for Pioneer Hi-Bred in emerging markets
Speaking at the Credit Suisse 2008 Global Agrochemicals
Conference, DuPont Vice
President and General Manager and Pioneer Hi-Bred President Paul
Schickler said DuPont business
Pioneer Hi-Bred is well positioned to serve the vast
agricultural opportunity in Eastern Europe.
“We expect rapid expansion in the high growth Eastern Europe
agriculture markets,” Schickler said. “Eastern Europe accounts
for close to 60 percent of the corn acres in Europe and our seed
corn products are performing very well against competitive
products. Our new sunflower and canola (oilseed rape) products
also are well adapted for the area and sales are growing
rapidly.”
Pioneer has grown its seed corn market share for all of Europe
by more than four points over the last five years, Schickler
said. The Pioneer volume of seed corn has grown by 39 percent
during that time while total hectares planted to corn have
remained relatively stable.
Schickler said Pioneer, which had $3.3billion in revenue in 2007
and is a key growth engine for DuPont, is extending its
leadership in all international seed markets with particularly
strong gains in Brazil and Argentina, where biotech crops are
being widely adopted.
In North America, he said, the business is on track to hold corn
market share and grow soybean seed market share in 2008.
“We are seeing strong demand for our high-yielding products in
North America,” Schickler said. “Our strong line-up of new
products bode well for this year’s growing season and the years
that follow.”
Schickler’s presentation is available at
http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/73/733/73320/items/283012/DD_CreditSuisse_031008.pdf
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is the world's leading
source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers
and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des
Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics
in nearly 70 countries.
DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts
science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a
better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating
in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of
innovative products and services for markets including
agriculture and food; building and construction; communications;
and transportation. |
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