Reconstruction of the top 20 global agrochemical rankings

Recently, AgroPages released the TOP20 list of global agrochemical companies in 2019. The list shows that the total sales of pesticides by TOP20 companies in fiscal year 2019 was US$59.53 billion, a year-on-year increase of US$3.13 billion (+5.6%; fiscal year 2018: US$56.396 billion), and industry concentration has further increased. What followed was that the TOP20 list of companies was restructured. Four new tops were born: Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, BASF and Corteva, Fumeco, and India United Phosphate followed closely behind, making the top six of the list; among them, the top four sales accounted for the entire list A single company accounts for 57% of the total sales, and the top 10 sales account for nearly 90% of the total sales of the entire list. In terms of growth rate, India United Phosphating ranked first in the list with a growth rate of 66%. Eleven Chinese companies were shortlisted strongly, becoming the biggest highlight of the list. In June 2020, the official establishment of Syngenta Group indicates that the industry ranking is expected to be reconstructed again in the future: Syngenta Group (pesticide business), Bayer, BASF, Corteva, Formica, United Phosphate and Sumitomo Chemical Wait.

According to statistics from Phillips McDougall, the global crop pesticide market sales in 2019 were 59.827 billion U.S. dollars (2018: 60.304 billion U.S. dollars), down 0.8% year-on-year. In 2019, many regions around the world experienced severe weather challenges, especially the floods in North America, the drought in Southeast Asia and Australia, which led to restrictions on the application of plant protection products; Sino-US trade disputes continue to affect the global crop trade pattern; Europe’s harsh Pesticide management policies have led to the prohibition of some bulk plant protection products; the superposition of multiple factors such as high safety and environmental protection in China has adversely affected the global pesticide market. In terms of regional markets, Latin America became the only growing region, with a year-on-year growth of 17.6%, effectively resisting the decline in all other regions.

The four giants are expected to restructure

Thanks to the acquisition of Monsanto, in 2019, Bayer CropScience surpassed Syngenta to top the list with sales of 10.374 billion U.S. dollars, becoming the world's largest pesticide company with a year-on-year growth of 7.6%. In Bayer's pesticide business, herbicides dominate with a product share of 46.9%. Its sales in 2019 were 5.097 billion euros, a significant increase of 22.2% year-on-year. North America is the largest regional market (including pesticides and seeds) in Bayer's crop science business. The company's sales in North America surged 86.2% year-on-year to 8.743 billion euros.

Syngenta's pesticide sales ranked second with a small gap of US$10.118 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%. Herbicides are Syngenta's largest product category, with sales of US$3.538 billion in 2019. The birth of the global agrochemical giant "Syngenta Group" is definitely the most milestone event in the global agrochemical industry this year. The group's sales in 2019 reached 23 billion U.S. dollars, of which the crop protection business was about 14 billion U.S. dollars, which is expected to rewrite the ranking of the list again.

In 2019, the pesticide sales of BASF Agricultural Solutions increased by 3.0% to 7.123 billion US dollars. Herbicides are its number one product category (proportion: 41.1%), with sales of 2.616 billion euros in 2019. North America is its largest regional market. In 2019, the company's sales in North America were 3.108 billion euros (including pesticides and seeds), a year-on-year increase of 43.5%, accounting for 39.8% of the company's total sales. Europe, South America/Africa/Middle East, and Asia accounted for 27.1%, 23.0%, and 10.0% respectively.

Corteva's pesticide sales were followed by USD 6.256 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 2.9%. In Corteva's pesticide business, North America is the largest regional market. Sales in this region in 2019 were US$2.205 billion (35.2%), a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%. The shares of Latin America, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia Pacific are 28.1%, 21.8%, and 14.9% respectively.

The backbone is striving for the top

FMC, India's United Phosphate, Adama, Sumitomo Chemical and Nufarm, ranked 5th-9th on the list, accounted for 30% of the total sales of the entire list with a total sales of 17.77 billion US dollars. Except for the slight decrease in sales of Adama, the sales performance of other companies achieved different growth. Among them, India United Phosphate's growth rate is the most eye-catching, with a year-on-year increase of 66%, becoming the company with the highest growth rate on the list.

In 2019, Formica ranked fifth on the list with sales of US$4.61 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. The increase was mainly due to the increase in sales of its plant protection products and the increase in prices. Among them, Latin America had the largest increase, with sales surged 19% year-on-year, and price increases were also one of the key factors driving its performance growth.

Thanks to the successful acquisition of Arysta, UPL's pesticide sales increased by 66% year-on-year (proportion of pesticide business: 88%). With the exception of Europe, the company's overall business sales in all regional markets achieved double-digit growth in rupee terms. Among them, the Latin American market grew the most, up 24% year-on-year. UPL ranks fourth in pesticide sales in Brazil, and first in Mexico and Colombia.

In 2019, Syngenta Group subsidiary Adama's pesticide sales amounted to US$3.611 billion (accounting for 90.3% of total sales), which was basically the same as in 2018 and ranked seventh in the list. Among the various plant protection product businesses of Adama, herbicides are its largest product category, with sales of US$1.72 billion in 2019, accounting for 47% of its plant protection product sales. In terms of regional sales (including plant protection products and fine chemical products), the European and Latin American markets rank among the top five markets with sales of 1.030 and 1.022 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. Among them, the European market has a year-on-year decrease of 2.6%, while the Latin American market Achieved the largest growth, an increase of 9.3% year-on-year. In addition, the Asia-Pacific (including China) and North American markets achieved annual sales growth.

Affected by extreme weather conditions in North America, Sumitomo Chemical, which ranked eighth on the list, had sales of US$2.575 billion in fiscal year 2019, a slight increase of 1.5% year-on-year. It is worth mentioning that Sumitomo Chemical officially completed the acquisition of Nufarm’s South American business in early April 2020. After the completion of the acquisition, Sumitomo Chemical’s South American pesticide business will surpass North America, and its sales in the region will exceed 100 billion. JPY.

Affected by the continued drought in Australia, except for Australia/New Zealand, Nufarm, which ranked ninth, achieved growth in sales of pesticides in Australian dollars. In terms of product categories, Herbicide sales in Australian dollars rose 8% to A$2.29 billion. Among them, the growth of halogenated phenoxy herbicides offset the decline in Glyphosate sales caused by adverse weather conditions in Australia. Insecticide sales increased 21% to 462 million Australian dollars. The increase was mainly due to the continued growth of its product portfolio acquired in Europe and Brazil. Fungicide sales increased by 30% to A$410 million. The increase was mainly due to the strong growth of its product portfolio acquired in Europe and the combination of tebuconazole and prochloraz.

Chinese Legion

Of the 11 companies after the top 9, 9 are Chinese companies, among which Yangnong Chemical successfully promoted to the top 10. The other two Japanese companies are Japan Combina Chemicals and Nissan Chemical, ranked 15th and 16th respectively.

In 2019, Yangnong Chemical's pesticide sales rose 58.8% year-on-year to US$1.251 billion, and its ranking jumped from 14th in 2018 to 10th in 2019. In 2019, Yangnong Chemical implemented a major asset reorganization and purchased 100% equity of Sinochem International and Agricultural Research Company (Shenyang Sinochem Pesticide Chemical R&D Co., Ltd.) with 913 million yuan in cash. Improved the company's pesticide innovation ability and formulation promotion strength, improved the integrated operation capability of research, production and marketing, and enhanced the company's market competitiveness. In addition, the company gave full play to its strong supply guarantee capabilities, fully met the needs of domestic high-quality customers and potential customers, and increased the sales of pesticide products; actively expanded the new product pyraclostrobin market and created new growth points; continued to deepen and The comprehensive synergy of Sinochem crops has promoted a substantial increase in sales of preparations; continued to deepen strategic cooperation with agrochemical multinational companies, actively promoted new cooperation with new projects and new products; at the same time, actively completed product registration to lay a solid foundation for business expansion .

Thanks to the steady global advancement of the “fast market entry platform” and its own brand building, Shandong Weifang Runfeng’s sales reached US$880 million in 2019, an increase of 8.8% year-on-year. Following closely behind, Beijing Yingtai Jiahe had pesticide sales of US$757 million, a sharp drop of 19% year-on-year. The company said that the decline in sales was mainly due to the complex international trade situation during the reporting period and the poor external sales of the industry. In this context, the company deepened its business structure and reduced the scale of its trading business. However, its self-produced business was affected by the suspension of production by its subsidiary Yancheng South, resulting in a decline in revenue, resulting in a decrease in revenue and profit. Secondly, due to the downturn in the industry, the investment in associates in the current period The decrease in income and the decrease in foreign currency exchange gains were caused by a combination of other factors.

In 2019, Nanjing Red Sun, which ranked 13th on the list, saw its sales of pesticides dropped by 22.4% to US$691 million. According to the company, unfavorable situations and pressures at home and abroad pose challenges to business performance. In the face of unfavorable situations and pressures at home and abroad, the sales prices of the company's major products such as paraquat fluctuated downward, and the overall operating costs increased, resulting in a greater decline in operating results. However, the company focuses on the business idea of “focusing on the main business, intensively plowing the advantageous industrial chain, and enriching the core product line”, and gives full play to the green pesticide technology, products and industrial chain advantages formed by the red sun using “digitalization + biochemical technology” to transform traditional pesticides, and teamwork Stabilize the production and supply of core products, with particular emphasis on increasing the promotion and sales of the main product Diquat. The sales volume and market share of Diquat increased significantly year-on-year, which not only eased the company’s current performance decline to a certain extent, but also helped the company seize The market takes the Lead and lays a solid foundation for greater benefits.

In 2019, Lierhua pesticide sales fell 3.3% year-on-year to US$586 million. Affected by the intensified market competition, the prices of the company’s main products have fallen sharply, while the prices of some raw materials have continued to rise, resulting in a decline in the profit contribution rate of the company’s main products. In addition, the expansion of international market registration, increased product R&D investment, and increased operating costs have led to Decline in sales performance.

Hubei Xinghua Chemical, ranked twentieth, is the only company to be shortlisted. Its sales in 2019 rose slightly by 2.8% to US$523 million. According to the company, in the first half of 2019, due to the increase in industry drive rates, increased market supply, high inventory in the superimposed market, and the continued impact of severe weather in the United States, the important consumer market for glyphosate, the purchase of glyphosate decreased. Glyphosate market is relatively weak, and market prices fluctuate downward. Since July-August, affected by factors such as the improvement of the yellow phosphorus industry in the southwest, the price of yellow phosphorus has risen, and the cost of glyphosate has increased, and the market price has stopped falling and rebounded. From September to December, due to the decline in the price of yellow phosphorus and the increase in industry operating rates, the glyphosate market returned to a downturn. All the above factors have had a certain impact on its sales performance.

Japan Combinatorial Chemicals, ranked 15th, saw its sales in U.S. dollars dropped by 24.7% in 2019, but its sales in yen rose by 6.6% to 72.623 billion yen. According to its company, in Japan, even though Effeeda, a herbicide used in paddy fields, has begun full sales, sales of mature products such as Top Gun and GanGan have declined, resulting in an overall decline in sales of herbicides in paddy fields. In terms of pesticides, due to the newly launched rice pesticide Pyraxalt, the export volume of pesticides containing Isotianyl has also increased, boosting the overall growth of its pesticide business segment sales. The company's self-developed paddy field herbicide Effeeda and horticultural pesticide Fantasista both maintained steady growth. The company's gardening products, specialty products, commissioned production and products for golf courses have all achieved growth. Sales in markets outside of Japan also increased. Although the continuous early spring rains and Sino-US trade frictions have led to a decline in the US soybean planting area, sales of its dry field herbicide Axeev in the United States are still strong. In Argentina and Australia, Axeev's sales have maintained steady growth due to its remarkable effects.

Ranked 16th, Nissan Chemical's dollar sales rose 14.7% to 655 million US dollars, and its yen sales rose 2.1% to 64.038 billion yen. In Japan, Nissan Chemical's "GRACIA" insecticide launched in the country has strong sales. The non-selective foliar treatment herbicide "ROUNDUP" maintained overall growth. In overseas markets, sales of "TARGA" herbicides have declined, but in the Korean market "GRACIA" and the acquisition of "QUINTEC" fungicides in the third quarter both contributed to the company's overall sales growth.

Challenges escalate, the future can still be expected

In 2020, the sudden new crown epidemic has brought an unprecedented impact on the global agrochemical industry. According to the financial report for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 disclosed by the five major agrochemical giants: Bayer, BASF, Corteva, Formica, and Adama, in addition to the slight increase in sales of Adama, the results of the other companies in the second quarter were different. The degree of decline. The outbreak of the epidemic will not only have a temporary impact on the company's performance, but also promote the company's transformation and upgrading in all links of its value chain, and is expected to accelerate the overall innovation of the industry. Although the global agrochemical market is still facing multiple pressures, with population growth and increasing demand for agricultural products, the future of the agrochemical market is still promising.