Through the acquisition of the two breeding companies SEMÍLIA GENÉTICA E MELHORAMENTO LTDA and DELTA PESQUISA E SEMENTES LTDA, as well as participation in an entrepreneurial partnership with the production and distribution company RIBER SEMENTES LTDA., KWS entered the tropical corn seed market in Brazil. KWS has therefore expanded its corn activities in the tropical region for the first time. Brazil has an acreage of around 14 million hectares, making it the world’s third-largest corn market.
On June 1, 2012, KWS acquired the breeding companies SEMÍLIA and DELTA based in Paraná, which together have four breeding stations in Brazil. The two companies were merged on July 1, 2012 into KWS BRASIL PESQUISA & SEMENTES LTDA. In cooperation with the former owners Francisco Terasawa (SEMÍLIA), Iran de Azevedo Duarte and Valdemar Naspolini Filho (DELTA), the breeding programs in the new company will be continued and expanded under KWS direction.
On July 1, 2012, KWS also acquired a majority stake in RIBER. The company, based in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, will continue to concentrate on the Brazilian market and, above all, offer genetically modified corn and soybean varieties, which have meanwhile also established themselves in the Brazilian market. Furthermore, RIBER - KWS SEMENTES S.A., as the company’s new name now stands, will continue to work with its licensing partners to provide high-quality seed to farmers throughout Brazil. Our partner and co-owner Cláudio Nasser de Carvalho will take over the leadership of RIBER - KWS as CEO.
“We are pleased that with these three Brazilian companies and their competent employees, we have found a good basis for entering the market in Brazil,” stated Christoph Amberger, KWS board member responsible for the corn division. “The new colleagues with their product and market knowledge in Brazil, coupled with KWS’s global breeding expertise, will open up good growth prospects in this important seed market,” continued Amberger.
About KWS
KWS SAAT AG is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies with activities in around 70 countries around the world and around 60 subsidiaries and associated companies. Its product range includes a wide range of sugarbeet, corn and cereal seeds, as well as oilseed and potato crops. KWS has been run autonomously and independently for more than 150 years. Sales in the current 2011/12 fiscal year are around €980 million, of which about 75% are from abroad. The KWS Group employs 3,800 people worldwide. Just under 15% of annual revenues are pumped into research and development. KWS uses state-of-the-art methods of plant breeding to further improve yields and resistances to diseases, pests and abiotic stress. For more information see www.kws.com.
