Rizobacter invests for expansion in the biological seed treatment market

By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages

Argentine company Rizobacter announced a major investment in new technologies to expand its presence in the market for biological seed treatment, at the end of 2020. 

In total, Rizobacter intends to spend US$4 million on updating and expanding its infrastructure, as well as expanding its business.

Rizobacter said that despite the year marked by the contingencies of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not given up on its development and growth objectives and has managed to make investments in two new laboratories. The company, which is of Argentine origin, also worked to advance the opening of markets abroad, thanks to the good economic performance and the fulfillment of its commercial objectives, as well as the attraction of new sources of financing in the capital market.

The laboratories will allow it to take a “new leap in quality standards” and also respond to recent changes in the registration and control standards for microbiological products, according to Rizobacter. The company will add efficiency to the entire production process through the adoption of new technologies such as molecular genetics, automatic micro-organism counters and the inoculum laboratory, which will increase the production volume tenfold.

The objective, according to the company, is “to reach faster solutions and more accurate results for a demanding and growing international biological market. Aware of the growing demand for organic products for the development of agriculture in the world, the company continues to develop its international presence in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, while continuing to consolidate its position in Latin America and to lead the local market.”

“In the second quarter of 2020, turnover increased by 46%, driven mainly by the increase in international sales of adjuvants, biofungicides, inoculants and seed treatment packaging. This year it managed to establish itself in Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Malawi, Ganha and Chile, so its presence amounts to a total of 38 countries,” Rizobacter stated.

At the Brazilian branch, there was organizational development that drove the growth of the company's staff. In 2020, the number of employees increased by 5% and employability was ensured. Also this year, Rizobacter continued to expand its portfolio, reaching 36 new product registrations. The company has a total of 346 brands and trademark orders in Argentina and a total of 302 international registrations and orders.

During the second quarter of 2020, Rizobacter, the main operating subsidiary of the Bioceres Crop Solutions Group, managed to win the trust of the capital market and successfully carried out a debt issue with the financing of US$15 million through the issue of Negotiable Bonds (ON) Series III, with a duration of 18 months and an annual interest rate of 4.73%. Subsequently, the issue of Series IV of the Negotiable Bonds program to the amount of $17 million, with a term of 36 months and a rate of 0%, was completed.

“We want to assure producers of access to technologies that can always improve the way they do agriculture. We prepared an investment plan in research, technological development and training to establish these solutions with a lot of added value, more efficient, accurate and sustainable, which adapt to the high demands of today's world, not only in terms of the number of incomes but also on the quality of production,” guaranteed Ricardo Yapur, CEO of Rizobacter.