NuFarm Ltd. would like to strengthen its position in the global seed business, particularly in sunflowers, sorghum and canola.
But what role Canada would play in the Australian crop protection company’s seed portfolio remains to be seen.
“We are not right now ready to go into the marketplace with a canola variety for Canada,” said Yvonnick Jambon, general manager for NuFarm’s Canadian operations.
“We have a strong position (in the canola seed industry) in Australia but we are not yet ready for a strong position in Canada.”
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NuFarm has established a new business arm, NuSeed, to deal specifically with seed sales and seed trait development with an eye on new business opportunities in the global seed trade.
One of them is sorghum, which has considerable potential in Africa.
The sorghum seed trade is a niche market that has not attracted a great deal of attention from major players in the international seed trade.
NuFarm sees an opportunity to become a significant player by getting in early and growing with the market.
One of NuSeed’s biggest moves was an announcement last month that it had entered into a $50 million Aus collaborative research agreement with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and the Australian Grains Research and Development Corp. to develop new made-in-Australia canola varieties that contain long-chain, omega 3 oils.
The company says it is well positioned in Australia to play a leading role in developing new canola varieties, focusing on food traits.
It already has a strong reputation in Australia, and its farm input sales account for more than 40 percent of the Australian market, said Grant Deveson, commercial manager for NuFarm’s Canadian operations.
The company also holds the Australian rights to Monsanto’s Dekalb brand germplasm.
Most canola varieties developed for North American production are not well suited to production in Australia, which seeds winter canola, but they provide a strong genetic base that could be tailored to meet the needs of Australian growers.
Deveson said NuFarm’s priorities in Australia are to develop high-value specialty oil canolas that will expand the company’s market share in that country.
“How we enter Canada as a seed company remains to be seen,” he said.
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