10 leading agrochemical companies

The agrochemical industry in 2008 experienced the highest rate of sales growth since 1976 and this market performance was clearly reflected in the sales results of the leading companies during the year. The companies include Syngenta, Bayer (excluding seed), Monsanto, BASF, Dow AgroSciences(excluding seed), DuPont, MAL, Nufarm, Sumitomo Chemical and Arysta.

Leading Agrochemical Company Sales in 2008 and 2007

 Source：Company reports，PMcD analysis and company communication
*Year ending November 2008
**Year ending January 2009
 

The most notable factors in the above table are the strong growth in dollar terms recorded by all the leading companies in the industry, and also that Syngenta overtook Bayer to regain the leading position in the industry. In addition to organic growth, several medium sized companies were again involved in a number of acquisitions during both 2007 and 2008, which has also enhanced their sales performance in 2008 in comparison with the previous year.

Over the last few years merger and acquisition activity within the agrochemical industry has been driven by the medium and smaller sized companies seeking to reposition their activities in response to the position of the six major R&D driven companies that lead the industry. Recent moves have been driven by strategies aimed at improving the distribution capability and the product portfolios of these operations, and 2008 saw a continuation of this trend. The table on the next page highlights the key acquisitions that have taken place in the agrochemical sector since the beginning of 2008.