BASF predicts crop protection arm to peak at €3 billion

German chemical company BASF expects its crop protection pipeline to achieve peak sales of €3 billion for products launched between 2015 and 2025.

Following its strategy to bring comprehensive solutions to farmers, the company will launch new products for all crop protection indications and specialty crops.

This promising pipeline is the result of continuous investments in research and development. Last year alone, BASF spent €514 million on R&D in the Crop Protection division.

"Innovation remains a crucial component of agriculture today. It is a dynamic market, with ever-changing needs and new challenges, and we are happy that we can contribute with new solutions and technologies," said Markus Heldt, president of BASF's Crop Protection division.

In the fungicide area, BASF is making progress in bringing a new blockbuster compound to farmers across the globe starting from 2019. Already at an advanced phase of development, the new fungicide is said to have demonstrated outstanding biological performance and is expected to become a key tool for effective disease control.

BASF's insecticide portfolio is also expanding with two new compounds increasing the number of tools for insect control and resistance management by the end of the decade.

For BASF, innovation goes beyond the discovery of new molecules and agrochemical compounds. "It is investing in areas such as IT, formulation technologies, biological crop protection and new business models as well," Heldt said.

"Although commodity prices have been lower and the agrochemical sector has slowed down, we have full confidence in long-term global trends," he said. "We need a robust agriculture sector as the basis for our planet's future growth. We can only support farmers' success in delivering healthy and affordable food if we continue to invest in new sustainable solutions to increase their yields. So that is what we will continue to do".

BASF's track record in successfully commercializing new products has proven to be a key growth pillar for the Crop Protection unit. More than 40 percent of sales were generated by products launched in the past five years. To further expand its market success with innovations, BASF Crop Protection will continue to invest approximately 9 percent of its sales in R&D.

With sales of more than €5.8 billion in 2015, BASF's Crop Protection division provides innovative solutions for agriculture, turf and ornamental plants, pest control and public health.