Interview Series 3: Industrias Químicas del Vallés (IQV) centers on copper-based fungicides and continuously expands its product portfolio

Editor's Note: Copper-based fungicides play a decisive role in controlling bacterial diseases, whether evaluated in efficacy or market shares. At the same time, copper-based fungicides show high efficacy against some fungal diseases such as downy mildew, Alternaria leaf spot and brown blotches in fruits and vegetable crops. Due to the advantages of eco-friendship, relative safety, rare resistance and usage in organic agriculture, copper-based fungicides have steadily retained the sixth position among all fungicides.

Accordingly, AgroPages recently came up with a special topic surrounding copper-based fungicides/bactericide product and invited some key players in this field to share their views over the global market landscape, product series, core strengths, application situation, as well as future development prospects. The third interviewee is Jordi Graell, General manager at Industrias Químicas del Vallés (IQV).

Q1: Can you introduct your company and its copper-based fungicides?

IQV was born in 1935 in Barcelona as a family business. Present in more than 60 countries, we currently have more than 450 phytosanitary records worldwide and are part of the MAT Holding business group, active in the agriculture and water management sectors.

At IQV, we are specialists in fungicides with a powerful bactericidal effect and we know first-hand the needs of the sector thanks to our profile and agro-industrial vocation. We know what has led us here—the use of copper—an element originating from nature that, synthesized, is considered one of the best and most used fungicides of bactericidal effect in history.

The action of copper compounds is based on the slow and constant release of the copper or Cu2+ ion in contact with water, which gives the cupric fungicides a contact action. When it is applied preventively, it acts as a protective barrier on the surface of the crop against the attack of the endoparasitic fungi and it is then that the copper ions are absorbed by the spores of the fungus and the bacteria, until they reach their total inhibition.

Copper has the ability to exert a multi-site action on fungal cells:
• Blocking the respiratory process
• Inhibiting the synthesis of proteins
• And reducing the activity of the cell membrane

This multi-site action of copper is exerted in several processes controlled by different genes, in such a way that the appearance of the phenomenon of resistance is very improbable.

Q2: Could you talk about your company's product line of copper-based fungicides and business model?

IQV, as manufacturer specialized in copper-based fungicides, offers a catalog of products of the highest quality to ensure plant health through the main copper salts: Bordeaux Mixture, hydroxide, oxychloride and copper sulphate and also their mixtures with other active substances through our flagship brands: Bordo®, Vitra®, Curenox® and Cupertine® respectively.

In response to other agricultural production systems, we also introduce a new line of Biofungicides and Biostimulants to respond to new market trends.

On the other hand, and as a result of our experience in the manufacture of copper-based products, we diversify our offer to other product categories by incorporating a line of additives for animal feed.

This is how IQV, through our know-how and experience, over the years, has also made a horizontal integration of the business to offer complete services of toll manufacturing, logistics and physical-chemical analysis in our two laboratories in Barcelona and Valencia, with the aim of providing our customers with solutions as adapted to their needs as possible.

Q3: What's the development concept of your company?

IQV is a company with a clear agricultural vocation and the closeness with collaborators, farmers and the field, has allowed us to maintain a real vision of their needs to offer solutions adapted to the daily challenges they have to face and to the new market trends.

This allowed us a few years ago to incorporate a new range of Metalaxyl-based systemic fungicide products, with which we completed our offer of solutions to combat diseases such as Mildius, which causes major problems in crops of great economic importance at the global level.

On the other hand, our R&D team reinforces our positioning by developing new molecules in collaboration with distinguished universities in the country.

Q4: What are the company’s plans to launch new products and expand new marketplaces?
 
Our challenge is to continue growing alongside our customers with utmost respect for the environment. While it is true that it is necessary to continue evolving, we will always do so by betting on the use of products in an increasingly responsible and sustainable way.

Aware of the different situations that farmers have to face continuously in order to face the new demands of the market, we have incorporated a line of biological products, with a fungicidal and biostimulant effect.

As a result, this situation has allowed us to strengthen our presence in current markets and strengthen our position in full growth markets such as Asia and South America.

If you are also the player in the field of copper-based fungicides/bactericide products and would like to join the above topic discussion/promote your products, pls contact us via: grace@agropages.com