New Syngenta CEO visits Brazil and defends Chinese control

Fifteen days after assuming his position as CEO of Syngenta, Eric Fyrwald came to São Paulo to initiate contact with the Brazilian staff, with the goal of gaining an in-depth understanding of the demand and opportunities for growth for the farm business in Brazil. “I wanted to come here soon to show my face. Make no mistake: Brazil will continue to be on top,” the new CEO said.

According to Fyrwald, Syngenta, under the control of ChemChina, is in a favorable position in the global market for pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and seed distribution, where mergers between competitors can affect the business: “We will continue to invest aggressively in research, while others will have some distractions to face.” 

"Big mergers generally bring years of disruption. Consider the employees alone, for instance. When two large companies merge and face the challenge of reducing costs, employees have a problem. They will overcome such problems in due course, but it is challenging. For us, this is not a problem. While our competitors are distracted by these issues, we remain focused on innovation,” explained the executive.

For the new Syngenta CEO, doing business with the Chinese company makes sense, allowing the Brazilian company to escape the pressure of pleasing shareholders. A former executive of DuPont, where he worked for 27 years, Fyrwald understands the pressure to deliver immediate results. “There is no consolidation at Syngenta – only transparency of control,” he stated.

"The other changes occurred due to major economic challenges. Companies are merging because of pressure from shareholders, mostly in the United States, with activists asking for sudden reductions in costs. So, what we are seeing is an adjustment with a central cause for these mergers,” he said. 

From its Chinese backers, the company aims to gain financial strength for innovation: “We want to continue leading the world market and will invest for that purpose,” he affirmed, emphasizing their research on soybeans and corn and the necessity of new combinations of agrochemicals that boost yields in the field. Today, 10% of the Syngenta revenue is committed to research & development activities.

In Brazil – a major market of the company – it is estimated that Syngenta will lose its leadership position in agrochemicals, dropping to a 20% market share, if the merger between Bayer and Monsanto is confirmed. Agrochemicals earned some US$9.6 billion in Brazil in 2015, while the sale of seeds earned US$4 billion per year.

Questioned about the criticism over the ease Syngenta would have in approving new technologies in China compared with its competition, Fyrwald said the focus of the research would not be Asia but major emerging markets in general. “Syngenta is part of a global industry, so it would not make sense to develop technologies solely for China. We would pass the same regulatory procedures in any other country, and we want this procedure to continue to be based on science and to be transparent, not political.

"There is no overlap in this area. We will be the agricultural arm of ChemChina. Nothing has changed. We will continue to be a company headquartered in Switzerland, and we will continue to lead Syngenta through a council of long-term members of the company and some Chinese representatives. The winner will be the farmer,” concluded the CEO.