Syngenta’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. (Photo courtesy Syngenta)

Syngenta says IPO ‘on track’

Ag chem firm books higher first-half profit

Zurich | Reuters — Agricultural chemical maker Syngenta posted higher first-half profit and sales on Thursday, helped by maintaining supplies to farmers and controlling costs during the coronavirus outbreak, and said it was on track to complete its public listing by mid-2022. The Swiss company, bought by state-owned ChemChina for $43 billion in 2017, posted

(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Industry leaders weigh in on seed royalty review

'Other markets... have already moved past this'

Syngenta’s Trevor Heck isn’t choosing a route for collecting seed royalty rates — but says the federal government needs to “move forward on some type of value capture” model. “Right now, you know, if we don’t have that within the seed industry, it’s going to be very difficult to be able to get the level


Syngenta’s Interaction Centre at Stein, Switzerland. (Syngenta.com)

Syngenta owner ChemChina to merge ag assets with Sinochem’s

Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina and Sinochem are consolidating their agricultural assets into a new holding company to be called Syngenta Group, ChemChina unit Syngenta said on Sunday. Chen Lichtenstein, current CEO of Shenzhen-listed crop protection company Adama, which will also be incorporated into the new group, will be nominated chief financial officer of the

A mature wheat crop in southern Saskatchewan, on Sept. 2, 2018.

Year in review: Cereal royalty discussions expected to resume soon

Seed industry had hoped issue would be settled by now

Prairie farmers will be talking about cereal royalties again this year. When public discussions on collecting more royalties from farmers to help fund new cereal varieties started in November 2018 the federal government targeted the spring of 2019 to report on farmer feedback on the seed industry’s two proposed options. But farmer opposition to both


Syngenta’s Canadian wheat breeder Francis Kirigwi inspecting plots at Syngenta’s Elm River Farm in Manitoba in 2013. Syngenta has announced it’s ending its Canadian cereal-breeding program at the end of the year.

Syngenta pulling out of cereal crop breeding Canada

The decision comes as royalty discussions start to heat up

Syngenta’s decision to scrap its Canadian wheat-breeding program is a wake-up call, industry officials warn. Canada needs an improved royalty system to reward wheat breeders for new varieties or more private breeders could pull out, according to some, while others say it’s critical public breeders are well funded in case they do. But a recent



Syngenta’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. (Photo courtesy Syngenta)

Chinese envoy says Syngenta takeover was a bad deal

Zurich | Reuters — Beijing’s ambassador to Switzerland said ChemChina’s US$43 billion takeover of seed and agrochemicals firm Syngenta was a mistake, adding he would have tried to stop the 2017 deal had he been in Bern at the time, a newspaper reported in an interview on Saturday. “If I had been the ambassador a

(Dave Bedard photo)

Bunge reportedly ready to replace CEO

Reuters — Bunge Ltd. is preparing to replace its CEO Soren Schroder as the global grains trader faces investor pressure, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources. The company is expected to announce the CEO’s departure in the coming days, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The grains trader was