DuPont, a science-based products and services company, on Thursday announced it has made two cotton acquisitions in Andhra Pradesh to enhance its product lineup and strengthen its growing business in India.
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, has purchased the cotton seed business of Nandi Seeds and cotton germplasm from Nagarjuna Seeds. 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.
“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,” Pioneer country manager, KV Subbarao, stated in a press release.
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 (Rs 350 crore) 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,” Kalsi added.
This is the latest in a series of investments by DuPont in India. Pioneer recently announced the opening of a new corn research centre in Bangalore to speed delivery of new, improved products to market and meet the growing demand for food and feed.
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DuPont also recently established the DuPont Knowledge Centre (DKC) in Hyderabad, which includes the Biotechnology Research Centre, a key location for global biotech research.
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.