DuPont Adds Cotton to India Seed Product Lineup
Strengthens Growing Seed Business in India
Hyderabad, India (Vocus) June 26, 2009
DuPont today announced it has made two cotton acquisitions in India to enhance its product lineup and strengthen its growing business here. DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred has purchased the cotton seed business of Nandi Seeds, based in Mehboob Nagar, Andhra Pradesh, India, and acquired cotton germplasm from Nagarjuna Seeds, based in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
“These acquisitions will help us enter the cotton seed market here and meet the needs of Indian farmers who grow more than 9 million hectares of cotton each year – more than anywhere else in the world,” said K. V. Subbarao, country manager -- Pioneer India. “Cotton is a natural fit for Pioneer in India. It completes our high-value product and service offering to farmers and enables us to further strengthen our growing seed business here.”
Pioneer currently offers corn, rice, pearl millet, sunflower and mustard in the Indian market and has grown revenue 40 percent annually for the last five years to reach about $70 million in 2008.
“Agriculture, food and nutrition is a key growth segment for DuPont in India, and these acquisitions are part of the company’s strategy to expand its presence here,” said Balvinder S. Kalsi, president -- DuPont India. “We are positioning our market-driven science company to grow at a faster pace by leveraging opportunities that will enable us to contribute to India’s sustainable economic development.”
This is the latest in a series of investments by DuPont in India. Pioneer recently announced the opening of a new corn research center in Bangalore to speed delivery of new, improved products to market and meet the growing demand for food and feed. The new Bangalore center is the fifth field research facility in India for Pioneer and will develop high-yielding hybrids adapted to the unique growing conditions in the area. DuPont has significantly increased its seed research investment in India in 2008 and has increased capacity for product development and evaluation across the country.
DuPont also recently established the DuPont Knowledge Center (DKC) in Hyderabad, India, which includes the Biotechnology Research Center, a key location for global biotech research. This biotech center is the first integrated agriculture and industrial biotechnology research center for DuPont outside the United States, and is one of five global agricultural biotech research facilities where DuPont conducts biotech discovery work. The other research facilities are in Wilmington, Del., U. S..; Johnston, Iowa, U. S.; Redwood City, Calif., U. S.; and Beijing, China.
Pioneer has been selling hybrid seed in India for more than 30 years and is one of the nation’s leading suppliers of improved seed genetics. Pioneer supports the sale of its products to more than 1.5 million customers in India with an extensive sales and agronomy team that works closely with Indian farmers to get the right product on the right hectare to maximize their productivity and profitability.
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is the world’s leading source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics in nearly 70 countries.
DuPont India is a subsidiary of DuPont. The DuPont association with India extends back more than 200 years, since the first shipment of raw materials for black powder for explosives was imported from India into the United States in 1802. Today, DuPont India, with more than 1,000 employees, markets a wide range of products in various market segments. The company has six production facilities in India in three locations for DuPont Crop Protection, DuPont Engineering Polymers, DuPont Refinish, and Pioneer® hybrid seeds.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations, estimates and projections. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company’s strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “intends,” “projects,” “indicates,” and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in DuPont’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance, and seasonality of sales of agricultural products.
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