Kureha plans to sell fungicide by end of 2008

22 January 2007 11:17  [Source: ICIS news]

TOKYO (ICIS news)--Japan’s Kureha and Chemtura of the US plan to launch worldwide sales of Kureha’s agricultural fungicide by the end of 2008, a spokesman from the Japanese chemicals producer said on Monday.

 

The companies signed an exclusive distributorship agreement in December last year, to sell the product, called Ipconazole, for edible plants in North America, Europe and Central and South America.

 

The companies plan to apply for approval of the product for use with plants including corn, oats and soy with the local authorities in North America by the end of January.

 

Kureha and Chemtura would then file applications for use with oats in Europe and soy in Central and South America in March.

 

Kureha expect that the companies would receive approval from each local authority during the period from 2008 to 2010.

 

A spokesman added that the chemical producers plan to start sales of the product as soon as obtaining permissions, and this could be by the end of 2008.

 

The spokesman, however, declined to say which country or region would be the first to sell Ipconazole, adding that Kureha would supply the product to Chemtura, and the American firm would blend it with other chemicals and distribute globally.

 

Kureha is hoping to achieve total net sales of Y2bn ($16.4m) for domestic and overseas sales of Ipconazole by early 2010’s.

 

He added the product was sold in Japan for use with rice plants, and the company currently had “several hundred million yen” in domestic sales.

 

Kureha sells another agricultural fungicide product called Metconazole in more than 30 countries.

 

The company plans to start domestic sales of Metconazole mainly in Hokkaido in January, according to previous ICIS news reports.

 

($1=Y122)

By: Tomomi Yokomura
+65 6780 4359

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly