UPL wants half of its revenue to come from ″differentiated and sustainable″ solutions by 2027

The agrochemical multinational UPL announced that it intends for 50% of its revenue to come from ″differentiated and sustainable solutions″ by 2027.

Originally from India, UPL operates in 138 countries and has global revenues of USD 6 billion in the fiscal year (between April 2021 and March 2022).

In the balance sheet announced in February this year, the company estimates annual growth of 14% in EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), and is betting on Latin America, especially Brazil, to maintain this result.

For Mike Frank, CEO of UPL Global Crop Protection, the demand for pesticides should remain intense in the last quarter of the year, ″, especially in the Americas″.

Latin America showed revenue growth of 28% from 2022 to 2023, being an important area of operations for UPL.

According to Mike Frank, Chief Executive Officer of UPL Corporation, ″Given the positive outlook, we are confident of ending FY 23 sustaining our revenue and EBITDA growth guidance, as well as the stated reduction in net debt to USD 2 billion by March 2023″.

Although it has gained proportion from the gate to the inside, UPL's portfolio of biological products -- whose focus is on biostimulants, nutrition, and biocontrol -- is still small.

Cristiano Figueiredo, CCO of UPL Brasil, estimates that, in terms of volume, around 10 million liters of products from this Natural Plant Protection (NPP) division portfolio are currently sold.

″Brazil has a very large representation in the UPL group. This brings a lot of responsibility and all these global projects, such as the decarbonization of the chain, need to be viable in Brazil. Hence the dedicated investment in NPP and in programs with a more sustainable footprint″, says Figueiredo.

Quickly introducing the 'bios' into the set of tools that the producer uses depends a lot on the approach taken in the field, eye to eye, according to him.

″The development of the biological platform requires us, the industry, to work much more technically than we had been doing with agricultural defensives″, says the CCO of UPL Brasil.

Unlike presenting synthetic products, with which the producer is already more familiar, the discourse to expand the adoption of biological products requires even more agronomic mastery.

″This event changes the qualification profile of the field team″, he comments.

Even so, one of the convincing resources for the producer is the possibility of being rewarded for good practices.

″There are several initiatives so that we can monetize the producer who really embarks on the footprint of producing well, more fibers, grains, with less environmental impact, for example by adopting regenerative agriculture practices″, says Figueiredo.

Among the UPL customers that are most suited to the synergy between chemicals and biological products, according to the CCO, are the livestock sectors for pasture cultivation and also horticulture and flowers.

″Large crops have been growing exponentially, but have a more modest percentage of use, such as soy, corn, cotton. We see that there is a lot of potential to develop this market″, he concludes.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)