Syngenta eyes $25 billion sales by 2020

NEW DELHI: Syngenta, the world's leading crop protection and seeds producer, is targeting to more than double its global sales to $25 billion by 2020 and expects India business to grow at a similar pace, a top company official said today.

Syngenta India had posted a revenue of about Rs 2,500 crore (nearly USD 0.5 billion) in 2011.

"We achieved a sales of USD 11.3 billion in 2011. We are targeting USD 25 billion of sales by 2020. I expect India to grow at least as fast as Syngenta globally," Syngenta Global Head Business Development Robert Berendes told PTI here.

Noting that India is an "important market" for the company, he said the country needs to engage small-holding farmers through transfer of technology and access to markets for achieving higher productivity and ensuring food security.

Berendes said the pace of transfer of technology in India needs to be accelerated.

On the India business, Syngenta South-Asia Head Akshaya Kamath said the Indian operation had a revenue of about Rs 2,500 crore in 2011, of which about Rs 1,000 crore each were from crop protection and exports while the remaining Rs 500 crore was from seed segment.

The company has a seed manufacturing plants in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and a research centre at Goa. It focuses on seeds of vegetables, rice, corn and cotton.

Asked about Syngenta's comments on the 10 year-moratorium on all field trials of GM crops suggested by the Supreme Court's appointed technical expert committee, Kamath said: "It will certainly slowdown transfer of technology. This is a cause of concern."

However, Kamath said: "the matter is sub-judice and we are hopeful that that Supreme Court and the government will take an objective and long-term view on this matter".

Syngenta India is conducting field trials on GM (genetically modified) corn but it does not sell BT cotton seeds.