Rizobacter leads seed treatment, invests $10 million in Brazil

The Argentine company Rizobacter is consolidating its presence in Brazil, where in the last five years, it has increased its turnover by 260% and positioned itself as a leader in professional seed treatments, with a 75% market share.

To support this growth, Rizobacter revealed that it is investing US$10 million in the construction of a plant in the city of Londrina, state of Paraná, which will be used for the production of premium agricultural adjuvants. These differentiated technologies seek to add value to the farming business by improving productive and environmental parameters.

In addition, in the new 65,000 m2 plant, there will be two laboratories for research and quality control of the biological and adjuvant lines. There will be an administration center for operations that originate in Brazil, one of the most important agricultural markets, in the world and where the company plans to achieve a turnover of $40 million next year.

The solid commercial structure developed by Rizobacter in Bioinsumos will also serve as the basis for receiving Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), a North American biologicals company recently acquired by the Bioceres Group.

This company has 18 recorded products focusing on comprehensive pest management, developed from microbiology, providing effective solutions for sustainable crop management.

Investments in Argentina

With investments already underway and others in the pipeline, Rizobacter intends to continue leading the production of biological products and solutions in Argentina, with high value-add, increasingly customized, for crop nutrition and protection.

Now, a part of the Bioceres Crop Solutions group, the company is investing $5 million to enlarge the production plant for biological products based in Pergamino, province of Buenos Aires.

Today, Rizobacter's soybean inoculants rank first with 23% of the global market share. The company anticipates further expansion, meeting the increased demand for biological products, which is registering a growth rate of 15% per year.

The installed capacity of the biologicals plant, from where more than 40 countries are supplied, is 90,000 liters. After the expansion, the company hopes to add 30,000 liters, which would allow production of up to 35 million doses per year.

″Rizobacter is a company that has shown agility in presenting new products and developing sustainable solutions for more than 40 years. The quality of our formulations, together with our commercial logistics and attention to producers, make it possible for us to be leaders in the domestic market and to have an important participation in the international market,″ said Ricardo Yapur, CEO of the company.

This year, the turnover is estimated to grow by 40% compared to last year. Of that total, 30% would correspond to exports.

Another growth engine for Rizobacter is the marketing – in Argentina and other Latin American countries – of its three lines of micro-granulated fertilizers, which are produced at the Synertech plant, a joint venture with the French company De Sangosse.

Today the capacity is at the top with the production of 40,000 tons per year, which is why an expansion is being planned to reach 60,000 tons, that would imply an investment of $10 million.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)