Euralis director: Seville produces more than 40% of the Group's oilseeds

Seville is a benchmark for the production of oilseeds for the French group Euralis , which chose this province as an investment destination, buying its seed activity from the Arlesa oil company.

Thus was born Euralis Semillas , one of the three factories that the group's seed division, Euralis Semences, owns worldwide .

In Seville “more than 40% of the oilseeds (sunflower, rapeseed and sorghum) of the multinational” are produced in a factory in continuous modernization. In fact, " this year, for the first time, 30 million euros have been billed ", so the announced merger between Euralis Semences and the Caussade Semences group, which is expected to close at the end of March 2020 , "will not affect to the activity in this plant », assures the director and operational director of Euralis Semillas, José Antonio García de Tejada Ricart .

—What is the activity of the factory in Seville?

—It consists in the production of sunflower, rapeseed and sorghum hybrids. We condition and certify about 7,000 tons of these three species. In addition, we are investing in new technology machinery to adapt to the increasingly demanding markets in terms of treatments and presentation of seeds. We export all of the rapeseed and sorghum, mainly to France and Germany and 80% of sunflower seeds are destined for the Eastern countries, (Russia, Ukraine and Romania). We are proud to know that in the European continent about two million hectares are sown every year with seeds produced by us in Andalusia.

Sowing campaign

- What prospects does the company have for the next plantings?

- Regarding sunflower sowing in Andalusia, the surface will remain stable in the dry land with a possible increase in irrigation, valuing an area around 210,000 hectares. The 25% surface drop of this crop with respect to the latest campaigns, mainly due to the increase in olive groves, almond and chickpea plantations, has been cushioned. As for corn, the prospects for cultivation are not good due to very low prices, high consumption of water and inputs. It is not the ideal situation as an alternative at this time for Andalusian irrigation. On the other hand, sorghum is a good option, since it has similar prices to corn, it needs half the water, many fewer inputs and yields up to ten tons per hectare.

—The good quotes of the high oleic sunflower compared to the conventional one will make the plantings grow. Is Euralis ready for a change in trend?

—The price differential of the high oleic with respect to linoleic sunflower has reached 150 euros per ton at the beginning of the 2019 harvesting campaign, which has meant that the farmer has obtained interesting benefits and considers it again in his plan of dry land cultivation. This year, the area of ​​high oleic sunflower was 60% and in the next sowings it is expected to be exceeded widely. Euralis is a reference company of high oleic sunflower in Andalusia, and responds to this expected increase with new varieties (such as ES Chromatic), especially those resistant to the herbicides Sulfo (ES Jurassic SU and ES Aromatic SU) and Clearfield (ES Electric CLP ).

- Could the growth of the high oleico lower prices?

—There are two factors that guarantee good prices. On the one hand, the consumption of high oleic sunflower oil is increasing annually between 6-8%, because a large part of the bakery and biscuit industry is replacing palm oil with high oleic sunflower oil. On the other hand, there is the one that we have a privileged position for sunflower cultivation. We are the first to harvest the entire European continent, so the industry is in need of the new harvest to start grinding, and this demand causes a price differential.

—The development of rapeseed in Andalusia continues to resist. For what reason?

- Colza is a crop that alternates perfectly with a cereal. There are countless studies that claim that this crop increases cereal production the following year as it restores a high nutrient rate to the soil and improves its structure. In Andalusia, in less fertile lands, with little water retention, it is an ideal crop since its yield potential is at least 50% higher than a sunflower. However, there are two reasons that have an important influence on the cultivation of rapeseed. On the one hand there is the sowing factor, since the varieties of spring rapeseeds have to be sown in Andalusia in the month of October or at the beginning of November. In addition, there must be an important rainy season that allows preparing the soil and the planting bed since the nascence of this crop is the most delicate. If it does not rain, as is the case with the last campaigns, the dates are passed and the farmer opts for the sowing of a cereal. On the other hand, there is weed control. In fact, until Clearfield varieties have been introduced to the market, rapeseed plots were infected with weeds, which has been a very negative factor for the development of this crop.

News

- Regarding R & D & I, how many new products has the company registered in the last year?

—Euralis invests 13% of its turnover each year in research, which allows it to develop many varieties of the corn, sunflower, rape, sorghum and soybean species. For example, the ES Bomba variety has just been registered in Spain, a linoleic sunflower, resistant to jopo and mildew, very early and at the same time with great potential for yield in the field.

—The Euralis Semences group and the Caussade Semences Group are taking steps for the merger. What consequences will it have at the Seville plant?

—In November, the Boards of Directors of both entities have confirmed interest in said merger. The labor representatives of both entities have also approved the project that is continuing and the operation is expected to close by the end of March 2020. The merger would create a Group that would enter the world top ten of seed companies large crop, with a global turnover of about 400 million euros, more than 2000 employees, and a remarkable ability to invest in R & D & I and thus maintain its competitiveness in the market. The project is part of an ambitious strategic expansion plan, with opportunities to gain market shares in major European markets and accelerate growth in important markets such as Russia and Ukraine. The project, therefore,

- What other projects does the company have for the next year 2020?

—In 2020, the other important project of the Euralis Semences Group is the investment in a new factory in Russia. It involves an investment of more than 24 million euros and will be operational for the 2021 campaign. With this investment, the Group intends to consolidate the strong growth of its sales in Russia, mainly sunflower and corn, and reach in 3 years a quota of 15% market becoming a leader in these markets.

—The company has opted for new technologies, such as the APP Or Master. Any other news in this regard?

—Euralis continues its commitment to provide solutions to the farmer as an added value to their products. For two campaigns he has developed a project called Farmstar with Airbus, to advise farmers who plant rapeseed through satellite images. In corn, there is a project called EPS (Euralis Profiling System) for the varietal recommendation according to the planting conditions of each area and each plot. This recommendation system will be launched soon for sunflower in Spain. The goal of Euralis is to become the closest and trusted partner of our farmers and distributors.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in Spanish. This English summary has been prepared with Google Translate and edited for clarity.