Dow agchem sales up 10% in 2013

Dow AgroSciences' crop protection sales increased by 11% in the fourth quarter of 2013 ended on Dec 31 year-over-year. The growth was driven by higher sales of herbicides in North America and Latin America, and higher sales of insecticides in Latin America. Sales of new crop protection products grew 23 %, led by spinetoram insecticide.

The total sales of agrochemicals, seeds, traits and oils recorded a 13.3% increase to $1,774 million in the quarter. Volumes rose by some 15% but prices decreased about 2%. Sales gains were broad-based across all geographies, led by double-digit growth in Latin America and North America. Sales of seeds, traits and oils(ST&O) grew by 20% for this quarter due to gains in Latin America from increasing market demand for quality germplasm and stacked traits. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for Dow's agricultural sciences business boosted by 13.5% to $177 million.

For the full year of 2013, Dow AgroSciences' crop protection sales increased by 10%. Dow’s agricultural sciences sales rose by 11.8% to $7,137 million. Volumes grew by around 11% and prices rose by some 1%. ST&O sales grew 19 % driven by strong farmer demand for SmartStax® corn hybrids including Powercore™ and Refuge Advanced®, and increased sales of soybeans. The EBITDA for Dow's agricultural sciences dipped by 0.8% to $969 million.