Dupont to expand Thai maize-seed pro

Arun Baral, regional director for Asia-Pacific at Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont subsidiary overseeing crop-seed development, yesterday said the expansion adhered to the company's policy of increasing seed quality and crop productivity in developing countries worldwide.

The expanded Thai facility is expected to be completed in 2011.

DuPont foresees the development of seed quality, resulting in improved productivity, as a challenge in raising crop production in a bid to meet global demand, which is growing at a faster rate than the availability of additional arable land.

Baral said the world population had grown by 13 per cent over the last decade, while global crop consumption had increased by 20 per cent. Harvested crop areas over the same period, however, had increased by only 8 per cent.

DuPont therefore believes it is crucial to increase yield in order to have sufficient output for the world's population.

In some countries, DuPont has focused its attention on increasing yields of crops such as maize, rice and oil palm. The main focus in Thailand is on maize, and it currently has no plan to study the development of rice production.

Baral said it was very difficult to say by how much the Thai maize yield would grow after the company's plant expansion is completed.

"Thailand is a good location for agriculture. We will focus on developing maize-seed quality and good genetics in order to add value to Thai farmers and increase productivity. DuPont believes that if we can help farmers to increase yield, their lives will be better as well," he added.

Baral said DuPont in the Philippines was focused on maize and soybean, while in Indonesia it concentrated on maize and rice.

DuPont this year invested $11 million to expand its plant in Malang, Indonesia. Apart from Thailand, it also plans to expand its production facility in the Philippines.

Carl J Lukach, president of DuPont Asia Pacific, said the company expected its revenue in Southeast Asia to drop by 15 per cent from $800 million last year, mainly due to the global recession.

DuPont's Asia-Pacific business showing the highest drop is electronics, as exports of Japanese and South Korean firms in the automobile and electronics industries - its major clients - have dropped sharply.

Although agricultural business, which is the main focus of DuPont in Southeast Asia, has still gone well, revenue from this business could not offset the drop in the electronics sector, he said.

However, Lukach forecast DuPont's revenue to recover next year with a growth rate of not less than 15 per cent. The company foresees a faster recovery in Japan than in other Asia-Pacific countries, followed by Asean countries, Australia and New Zealand.

DuPont's global sales this year are expected to decline to $26 billion from $31 billion in 2008. The company targets annual growth of 10 per cent over the next three years.

Alternative energy such as biofuel and butanol, agriculture and security products will be the main revenue drivers next year, he added.