BASF's Crop Protection division aims 50% sales from emerging markets

BASF’s Crop Protection division, which on October 2 this year raised 2020 sales target to Euro 8 billion, expects the contribution from emerging markets to increase to about 50% in future. “We expect continued growth in emerging markets, which for Asia means all markets except Japan, Australia and New Zealand. We expect that emerging markets will soon comprise upwards of 50% of our total global sales,” said Barbara Aguiar, Head of Media Relations, BASF Crop Protection, in an email when asked about importance of Asia in achieving the 2020 sales target. According to the revised targets, BASF's Crop Protection division, which recorded sales of around Euro 4.7 billion, now expects it to achieve sales of more than Euro 6 billion by 2015.
 
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Asia Pacific, which contributed Euro 525 million to BASF Crop Protection’s sales in 2012 compared with Euro 487 million in 2011, is expected to be a major demand driver for its products in near future. “Sales from Asia Pacific represent a 71% overall increase (or CAGR +14%) over the past five years from Euro 307 million in 2008 to Euro 525 million in 2012,” added Aguiar.  
 
BASF is also planning to build new or expand existing formulation plants at several sites around the world, including Asia. The company has already announced the construction a formulation plant in China as a part of its investment plans for agriculture in Asia Pacific. “We will build a formulation plant for agricultural products in Rudong, China, our first in the Asia Pacific region. We are currently analysing our options in other major markets in the region,” said Aguiar.
 
 
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In addition, BASF's Crop Protection division has high expectation from India, one of the leading agri-product producers in the world. “Yes, we recently named India a core strategic market due to its recent business success and future growth potential. Though, we cannot provide individual sales targets for specific countries or markets, we can assure you that demand for both our products and services continues to grow in India. One major contributor to this success comes from our Samruddhi farmer training program,” replied Aguiar, when asked about expansion plans for India.