NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) - The US agrochemical and seed company Corteva wants to give Bayer much more competition in the Brazilian soybean seed market. Brazil is the target market for further corporate growth, Corteva CEO Chuck Magro told the Bloomberg news agency in an interview published on Thursday. He sees no reason why "20 or 30 percent of Brazil's soybean acreage could not be served by the end of the decade". Currently, Bayer in particular has a strong presence in the country, which is the world's largest soybean producer.

Corteva's seeds enable farmers to spray areas with weedkillers such as glyphosate and 2,4-D choline, as these soy plants are immune to the pesticides. According to the company, Corteva has already conquered large parts of the US market with the corresponding Enlist 3 seed system, while the market share in Brazil is still negligible. Enlist 3 is in direct competition with Bayer's Roundup products in a market worth billions.

Bayer had only lowered its outlook for the year in November, partly due to a sluggish agricultural business. The pressure on the soybean business in Brazil had increased as a result of lower prices on the agricultural markets, explained the head of Bayer's agricultural division, Rodrigo Santos, when presenting the figures for the third quarter.

Bayer's shares, which were already under severe pressure, came under even greater pressure as a result of the lowered forecast. It has already lost 42 percent of its value in 2024 alone, which puts it in last place in the leading German DAX index. However, the glyphosate litigation in the USA also plays a role here. Corteva shares, on the other hand, have gained more than 25 percent in 2024./mis/edh