Exclusive First Look | In-Depth Analysis of the 2024 Performance Highlights of the World’s Six Largest Multinational Agrochemical Companies

With Syngenta Group’s latest financial data now disclosed, the 2024 annual reports of most global agrochemical giants have been released. AgroPages presents an exclusive summary of key data points, offering you a comprehensive snapshot of industry trends in a single article.

The world’s six largest agrochemical companies face revenue and profit pressures

Note:

1.    ″Syngenta″ refers to Syngenta Crop Protection, also known as Syngenta AG.

2.    The revenue figures for the six major agrochemical giants are reported in their respective local currencies: Bayer and BASF in Euros, while Syngenta, Corteva, FMC, and Adama in US dollars.

3.    As Syngenta AG did not directly disclose its EBITDA, AgroPages derived the figure using an internationally accepted EBITDA calculation framework, applying the following standardized formula:EBITDA = Operating Income + Depreciation (Property, Plant & Equipment and Right-of-Use Assets) + Amortization (Intangible Assets).

Revenue Decline Persists, Industry Under Pressure

As illustrated in the chart, the world’s six largest agrochemical giants have experienced three consecutive years of revenue decline, with no signs of reversal in 2024:

• Bayer: €22.259 billion (-4.34% YoY)

• Syngenta: $16.981 billion (-11.54% YoY)

• Corteva: $16.908 billion (-1.85% YoY)

• BASF: €9.798 billion (-2.91% YoY)

• FMC: $4.246 billion (-5.37% YoY)

• Adama: $4.141 billion (-11.16% YoY)

Mounting Profitability Pressure, Shrinking EBITDA

Profitability remains under strain, with EBITDA declining across all major players:

• Bayer: €4.325 billion (-14.15% YoY)

• Syngenta: $2.292 billion (-32.05% YoY)

• Corteva: $3.376 billion (-0.15% YoY)

• BASF: €1.938 billion (-14.63% YoY)

• FMC: $90 million (-7.67% YoY)

• Adama: $37 million (-7.75% YoY)

The sustained revenue decline and profitability challenges highlight the ongoing pressures facing the global agrochemical industry.

Note: 

1.    To facilitate a more accurate horizontal comparison, the performance data for Bayer and BASF have been converted to U.S. dollars using the average annual exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar. The average exchange rates are as follows: in 2024, 1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars; in 2023, 1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars; and in 2022, 1 euro = 1.05 U.S. dollars.

Analysis of Factors Pressuring Global Agrochemical Giants in 2024

1. Bayer: Price Competition Weakens Business

Bayer’s crop protection business faced significant pressure from competitive pricing, leading to lower prices. The seed and trait business saw reduced production due to a decrease in planted area, although growth in crop protection partially mitigated the overall revenue decline.

2. Syngenta: Dual Impact of Weather Disruptions and Generic Drug Competition

Severe weather events and channel destocking, driven by rising financing costs, hindered crop protection sales in the first half of the year. The launch of new generic drugs further intensified price competition for technical products. However, Syngenta managed to maintain stable gross profit margins through cost reductions in raw materials, achieving a slight 2% increase at constant exchange rates.

3. Corteva: Currency Fluctuations Offset Structural Gains

Price declines and negative currency effects were the main challenges, although a 2% growth in sales volume helped alleviate some pressure. Intense price competition in crop protection, especially in Latin America, continued, while seed prices improved due to strong demand for advanced technologies.

4. BASF: Exchange Rate and Glufosinate Price Impact

The drop in glufosinate ammonium prices, BASF’s core herbicide product, combined with sharp currency depreciation, created significant revenue declines, despite increased sales.

5. FMC: Growth Products Cushion External Shocks

FMC faced negative impacts from price reductions and exchange rate fluctuations. However, the launch of new active ingredients, such as Isoflex™ and fluindapyr, drove sales growth and became crucial to overall performance.

6. Adama: Struggles with Structural Adjustment Amid High Interest Rates

Adama saw a 7% increase in sales volume over two consecutive quarters, reflecting successful efforts to eliminate low-margin products. However, market oversupply and exchange rate fluctuations, particularly the depreciation of the Brazilian real, outweighed the benefits of volume growth.

Common Challenges and Core Characteristics of the Agrochemical Industry

1. Downward Price Pressure Across the Industry

• Price Wars Dominate the Market: The six major companies are all impacted by aggressive pricing in the crop protection sector. The release of new generic drug production capacity (Syngenta, Corteva) and inventory liquidation (Adama, Syngenta) have intensified the price competition. Core products, such as glufosinate (BASF) and older technical drugs (Syngenta), have seen significant price declines.

• Regional Market Differentiation: Emerging markets, such as Latin America (Corteva) and Asia Pacific, are particularly price-sensitive and have become the primary battlegrounds for price wars.

2. Cost Control Becomes a Key Survival Strategy

• Raw Material Cost Optimization: Companies like Syngenta and Corteva have managed to offset some of the price pressure through effective supply chain management.

• Product Portfolio Upgrades: FMC (with Isoflex™ and fluindapyr) and Adama (by eliminating low-margin products) are creating competitive advantages by focusing on technological barriers.

• Working Capital Compression: Syngenta’s channel inventory control and Adama’s just-in-time purchasing model have helped reduce capital utilization costs.

3. Increasing Uncertainty in the External Environment

• Climate Risks: Extreme weather events (as seen with Syngenta in the first half of the year) disrupt planting cycles, indirectly affecting seed demand (e.g., Bayer).

• High-Interest Environment: Rising financing costs (notably for Syngenta) are forcing channel dealers to reduce inventory, intensifying price competition.

The shared challenges faced by these six industry giants highlight the structural contradictions within the agrochemical sector. Under the dual pressure of demand-side fluctuations (planting area changes, climate risks) and supply-side issues (overcapacity, the impact of generic drugs), the industry’s profit model is shifting from ″scale expansion″ to a focus on ″lean operations and technological innovation.″ Moving forward, companies that can control costs across the entire value chain and maintain a differentiated product portfolio are likely to lead the next industry cycle.

The six major agrochemical companies have the Americas as the central hub of their business operations

Note:

1.    In 2024, Syngenta revised its sales region structure, redividing the previous regions of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and Others into new regions: Asia, Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Others.

2.    The revenue figures for the six major agrochemical giants are reported in their respective local currencies: Bayer and BASF in Euros, while Syngenta, Corteva, FMC, and Adama in US dollars.

3.    The numbers on the bar chart represent the percentage of each region’s sales relative to the total sales for the year.

4.    EMEA refers to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa；SAMEA refers to South America, the Middle East, and Africa.

5.    The numbers on the bar chart represent the percentage of each business’s sales relative to the total sales for the year.

Based on a detailed analysis of the graphical data, three key market characteristics can be summarized:

1. Significant Regional Growth Differentiation

From 2022 to 2024, the global agrochemical market experienced structural contraction, with only Corteva (a three-year CAGR of 2.18% in North America) and BASF (6.25% growth in Asia Pacific in 2024) achieving positive growth. Notably, Syngenta made a breakthrough in the ″Other″ category and the adjusted Asia Pacific region through strategic reorganization (refer to the notes for specific adjustments), positioning it as an exception in the downward cycle.

2. Enterprise Location Dependence

• Core Strategic Anchors: Bayer (42% of North American revenue), Corteva (39%), and BASF (40%) all have a strong dependence on the North American market.

• Regional Specialization: Syngenta’s business in Latin America accounts for 58%, offering a significant location advantage. Similarly, Formica’s business contribution in Latin America was 33%, though sales in the region sharply declined starting in 2022.

• Balanced Development: Adama shows a well-balanced approach, with a revenue share standard deviation of only 2.76% across its four major regions (North America 20.5%, Europe 27.1%, Latin America 25%, Asia Pacific 27.4%), showcasing its robust global business capabilities.

3. Unrealized Potential in the Asia-Pacific Market

Except for Adama, which achieved a 27.4% sales contribution in Asia Pacific, other companies have less than 20% of their sales in this region (Bayer 10%, Corteva 6.1%, BASF 11.6%, FMC 20%). Syngenta is an outlier in 2024; refer to the chart notes for details, as its performance in the region reveals a notable structural gap.

Analysis of the Highlights and Pain Points of Regional Performance for Global Agrochemical Giants in 2024

1. Bayer: Planting Structure Adjustments Drive Regional Differentiation

• Latin America Weakness: Shrinking corn acreage and falling crop protection prices.

• North American Resilience: Expanded soybean plantings supported crop protection sales, though weak corn demand partially offset gains.

2. Syngenta: Technological Moat Shields Against Macro Risks

• Highlights: Innovative technologies like ADEPIDYN^® fungicide (China) and MIRAVIS^® (UK) drive structural growth.

• Challenges: European channel destocking, Russian supply restrictions, and the depreciation of Latin American currencies.

3. Corteva: Recovery in Latin American Demand Amid Currency Risks

• Growth Drivers: Brazil’s Safrinha corn and a rebound in North American soybean/cotton demand fuel sales.

• Risks: Depreciation of the Brazilian real and Turkish lira erode profits.

4. BASF: Growth in Asia Cannot Offset Decline in Europe and the U.S.

• Highlights: Strong sales growth across Asia, with broad indication coverage enhancing competitive advantages.

• Challenges: Plummeting glufosinate prices in Europe and the negative impact of the Turkish lira.

5. FMC: Regional Balance Driven by New Products

• Breakthrough Strategy: Sales growth driven by fungicides Onsuva^® (Latin America) and Cyazypyr^® (Europe).

• Challenges: Brazil’s one-time incentive policy (Latin America) and India’s inventory reduction (Asia) led to pricing losses.

6. Adama: Structural Adjustments Start to Yield Results

• Highlights: Strong performance in North American consumer business and a recovery in China’s technical exports (Q4 growth).

• Pain Points: Depreciation of the Brazilian real and the dumping of Chinese generic drugs.

Note:

1.    To facilitate a more accurate horizontal comparison, the performance data for Bayer and BASF have been converted to U.S. dollars using the average annual exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar. The average exchange rates are as follows: in 2024, 1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars; in 2023, 1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars; and in 2022, 1 euro = 1.05 U.S. dollars.

2.    In 2024, Syngenta revised its sales region structure, dividing the previous regions of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, and Others into Asia, Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Others. For statistical clarity, Asia, Middle East and Africa are represented as Asia Pacific in the figure above, with China included in this category. Europe is shown as Europe, Middle East and Africa.

3.    BASF combines the Middle East and Africa with South America in its sales region division. To simplify comparison, BASF’s sales in this area are shown as Latin America in the figure above.

4.    In FMC’s sales region division, Asia is represented as Asia Pacific in the figure above.

Based on the graphical data analysis, the following five market insights can be derived:

1. Bayer Maintains Global Leadership: From 2022 to 2024, Bayer continues to dominate key sales regions. Notably, if Syngenta had not restructured the Asia-Pacific market into three distinct regions (Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and Others) in 2024, Bayer could have claimed the top spot across all regional markets.

2. Syngenta’s Advantage in Asia Pacific Is Narrowing: Although Syngenta remains competitive in traditional Asia-Pacific markets, its market share has been gradually declining, and its leadership position is under increasing pressure.

3. Latin American Duopoly Remains Stable: The Latin American market continues to be dominated by a clear duopoly, with Bayer and Syngenta collectively holding over 60% of the market share among the six major agrochemical companies, securing a solid leadership position.

4. Outstanding Size of the North American Market: North America, the world’s largest single market, surpassed US$ 28.6 billion in annual sales. Bayer and Corteva lead the market, with their shares 16-20 percentage points higher than BASF, which ranks third.

5. BASF’s Growth Challenges in Asia Pacific: While BASF experienced sales growth in Asia Pacific, its market share remains the lowest among the major players, indicating that its expansion lags behind competitors.

Common Challenges and Core Characteristics of the Region:

1. Highly Differentiated Regional Markets

• Latin America: Depreciation of the Brazilian real (Corteva, Adama) and Argentina’s economic contraction (Syngenta) have intensified price competition.

• North America: Fluctuating soybean/corn planting areas (Bayer, Corteva) and a high-interest-rate environment have dampened purchases (Adama).

• Asia: India’s destocking (FMC), China’s generic drug dumping (Adama), and extreme weather in Pakistan and Bangladesh are key challenges.

2. The ″Seesaw Effect″ of Sales Volume and Price

• While five of the six companies achieved regional volume growth, none were able to fully offset the decline in prices.

3. Exchange Rate Fluctuations as a Key Variable

• The depreciation of the Brazilian real (Corteva, Adama), Turkish lira (BASF), and Argentine peso (Syngenta) has directly eroded dollar-denominated revenues.″

The six major agrochemical companies: Seed business continues to grow, while traditional sectors remain weak.

Note:

1.    The revenue figures for the six major agrochemical giants are reported in their respective local currencies: Bayer and BASF in Euros, while Syngenta, Corteva, FMC, and Adama in US dollars.

2.    The numbers on the bar chart represent the percentage of each business’s sales relative to the total sales for the year.

The following three key characteristics can be summarized from the above figure:

1. Overall Decline in Herbicide Business

The herbicide business of the six major multinational agrochemical companies has declined year by year. FMC experienced the smallest drop at 2.11%, followed by Bayer with a 7.73% decline. Other companies saw declines exceeding 10%, with Syngenta experiencing the largest decrease at 24.56%, particularly in non-selective herbicides, which have sharply declined since 2022.

2. Stable Pesticide Market Competition

With the exception of FMC and Adama, the insecticide businesses of Bayer, Syngenta, Corteva, and BASF have remained relatively stable over the past three years, reflecting the market advantages held by these four traditional insecticide companies.

3. Steady Growth in Seed Business

The seed business of the four major agricultural giants has maintained steady growth overall, though performance varied across categories:

• Bayer: Slight declines in corn and cotton seeds, stable soybean seeds, and a slight increase in vegetable seeds.

• Syngenta: Similar to Bayer, with slight declines in corn and soybean seeds, a small increase in vegetable seeds, and stable flower seeds.

• Corteva: Strong performance, with both corn and soybean seeds showing growth, and other seed categories remaining stable.

• BASF: Although there is no segmentation by seed category, overall seed business growth has continued over the past three years.

Note:

1.    To facilitate a more accurate horizontal comparison, the performance data for Bayer and BASF have been converted to U.S. dollars using the average annual exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar. The average exchange rates are as follows: in 2024, 1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars; in 2023, 1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars; and in 2022, 1 euro = 1.05 U.S. dollars.

2.    Since Bayer and Corteva provide segmented statistics for soybean and corn separately, while Syngenta combines the data for both, the soybean and corn business data for Bayer and Corteva are merged for the sake of horizontal comparability.

The following nine characteristics can be summarized from the above figure:

1. Ladder Distribution of Traditional Chemical Pesticide Business

The traditional chemical pesticide business shows a clear tiered structure: Bayer and Syngenta form the first echelon, Corteva and BASF are in the second echelon, and FMC and Adama are in the third echelon. Significant gaps exist between the echelons.

2. FMC’s Dominance in Insecticide Business

FMC’s revenue is primarily focused on the pesticide field, with 56% of its total revenue coming from this sector. In contrast, other companies concentrate more on herbicides within the three main categories of traditional chemical pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides). Bayer leads the herbicide market, while the revenue gap between Syngenta, Corteva, and BASF in the herbicide business continues to narrow. In 2024, BASF’s fungicide business will grow steadily, slightly surpassing its herbicide business.

3. Overall Shrinkage of Traditional Chemical Pesticide Business

All companies have experienced a downward trend in their traditional chemical pesticide businesses, to varying degrees.

4. ″Double Dragon″ Competition in Seed Business

Bayer and Corteva have established a dominant ″double dragon″ competition in the seed market, significantly outperforming Syngenta and BASF. The sales of Syngenta and BASF’s seed businesses are less than 50% of Bayer and Corteva’s combined sales in corn and soybean seeds.

5. Focus on Specific Crop Seed Business

Syngenta separately lists its flower seed business, signaling its expansion intentions in this area, although growth has been limited in the past three years. Similarly, Bayer lists its cotton seed business separately, and Corteva lists its oilseed business separately, but both have seen slight declines.

6. Steady Growth in Vegetable Seed Business

Both Bayer and Syngenta’s vegetable seed businesses have maintained steady growth since 2022. Bayer’s vegetable seed business grew by 3% in 2023 and 5% in 2024, while Syngenta’s grew by 6% in 2023 and 7% in 2024.

7. Syngenta Excels in Other Business Areas

Syngenta stands out in other business sectors, with these areas accounting for 19.39% of its total revenue. The seed care business is the largest contributor within this category.

8. Other Businesses Account for a Relatively Low Proportion

Except for Syngenta, the ″other businesses″ of the remaining companies represent less than 10% of their total revenue:

• Bayer (other businesses): 7.2%

• BASF (seed treatment business): 6.1%

• Adama (fine chemicals business): 9.01%

• Corteva (biologics + other businesses): 5.73%

• FMC (plant health + other businesses): 6%

9. Differentiated Layout of Biological Preparations and Seed Treatment Business

FMC’s plant health business covers multiple segments, including seed treatment and biologics, though specific sales figures are not disclosed. In contrast, Corteva and Syngenta clearly define biologics as a separate segment, each accounting for 2.8% of total sales. Within other businesses, Syngenta’s biologics make up 14.45%, while Corteva’s biologics account for 49.17%. Additionally, Syngenta’s seed care business represents 8% of total sales and 41.03% of its other businesses, similar to BASF’s 6.1% seed treatment business.

Strategic Outlook for the Six Global Agrochemical Giants in 2025

Bayer: Balancing Offensive and Defensive Strategies under Stable Growth Framework

Market Prediction: The global seed and crop protection market is expected to achieve mild recovery (0-2%) after a decline in 2024 (-2%), with notable structural adjustments:

Price System: Crop protection products like glyphosate are bottoming out in price, and production cost transmission may lead to structural price increases in subcategories.

• Momentum Conversion: Expansion of corn planting area drives seed business growth, with vegetable seeds and grains contributing to overall growth.

• Risk Matrix:

• Stricter Regulation: 20% of products may face registration revocation risks due to CBD regulations.

• Escalating Competition: The rise of digital agriculture may introduce new entrants, potentially reducing the premium capability of traditional channels by 12-15%.

Strategic Response: Launching a ″two-wheel drive″ model to expand the biologics pipeline via the Open Innovation Alliance, while accelerating gene editing technology commercialization.

Syngenta: Resilience Amid Cyclical Fluctuations

Operational Pressure Transmission Chain:

• Farmer Income Pressure → Reduced Input Demand → Intensified Price Competition

• Inventory Cycle: Channel destocking completed, with sales expected to align with usage in 2025.

• Cost Leverage: Lower active ingredient procurement costs support gross profit margin.

• Geopolitical Risks: Russia’s seed import restrictions may continue to impact Eastern European markets.

Breakthrough Path: Focus on developing biological preparations and accelerating the localization of seed production in Latin America.

Corteva: Building an Ecosystem for Technology Disruptors

Gene Editing:

• Utilizing the self-developed Genlytix™ platform and partnership with Pairwise, Corteva’s key R&D projects include gene-edited seeds that prevent $1 billion in annual crop losses in North America.

New Agricultural Systems R&D:

• Hybrid Wheat: Can increase yield by 10%, and 20% compared to conventional varieties in water-deficient environments.

• Biofuels Program: Expanding winter rapeseed to develop low-carbon aviation fuel feedstock, creating new income streams for farmers.

• Dwarf Corn: Developing varieties with 30% lower plant height to improve fertilizer efficiency and wind resistance.

Digital Agriculture:

• AI for accelerating technology screening, drone data processing, and regulatory process optimization.

• Granular Insights integrates directly with farm equipment, doubling farmer adoption rate in pilot programs.

• GenAI agronomy assistant CARL provides real-time agronomic decision support.

Biologics Innovation:

• Focusing on biostimulants like Utrisha™N to improve nutrient utilization efficiency.

BASF: Efficiency-First Recovery Path

Financial Guidance:

• EBITDA Margin Improvement: Benefiting from the recovery of glufosinate ammonium business.

• Cash Flow Pressure: Reducing inventory turnover days by 15 to offset a 30% increase in working capital utilization.

Strategic Pivot: Launching the ″Precision Agrochemical″ plan to reduce R&D costs by 20% through AI formulation systems.

FMC: Structural Optimization with Strategic Stock Game

2025 Financial Compass:

• Revenue: $4.15-4.35 billion

• EBITDA: $870-950 million, with cost optimization countering price pressures

• Earnings Per Share: $3.26-3.70, focusing capital allocation on high-margin biostimulants

Risk Hedging: Establishing a dynamic exchange rate hedging mechanism.

Adama: Breakthrough in Emerging Markets

Dual-Track Strategy:

• Defensive: Optimizing working capital management

• Offensive:

• Expanding the differentiated formulation product matrix

• Arbitrage of China’s technical production capacity

• Increased R&D investment in new drug delivery technologies

Growth Equation: Volume growth > weak prices.