Tel Aviv-based crop protection company Adama has acquired Peruvian company AgroKlinge, which boasts a strong brand and reputation in the $240 million Peruvian crop market, according to Adama. The acquisition will help Adama expand its customer basis in the country with an emphasis on accessing large-scale industrial farmers. By its account, the acquisition will make Adama one of the leaders in the region.
Although the Peruvian crop protection market is well-developed, few multinational companies have a direct presence in the country, according to Adama. It currently serves farmers in over 100 countries with a team of 7,000 employees providing solutions for weed, insect, and disease control to optimize yield.
“We welcome AgroKlinge to Adama and are excited to have its experienced and highly skilled team be a part of our company. AgroKlinge’s excellent positioning within the Peruvian market, with a wide product portfolio, strong brand and relationships with leading growers, will significantly bolster our long-term growth in the region,” Adama Andean markets general manager Edgardo Iglesias said in a press release announcing the acquisition.
“AgroKlinge is well known in Peru for its focus on differentiated products and solutions that provide added-value for farmers in various crops, which is fully aligned with Adama’s global strategy of portfolio differentiation.”
Agriculture represents 11.3% of Peru’s GDP and employs 28% of the working population. Its main agricultural exports are cotton, sugarcane, coffee, wheat, rice, maize, quinoa, and barley. It’s a leading exporter of artichokes, quinoa, mangoes, citrus, avocados, and grapes, too. Agriculture has experienced steady growth in the South American country over the last two decades and has softened the impact of poverty on Peruvians.
Last year, however, The World Bank released a book concluding that prosperity in its agricultural economy has been different for smallholders in the region. The situation is improving for smallholders in some regions due to access to better-paying markets for traditional crops like cocoa and native potato varieties.
Adama also recently announced its Q3 financial results, demonstrating strong growth and record sales of $953 million representing a 9% increase.
“We delivered record-high sales in both the quarter and nine-months, led by double-digit growth in North America as well as our differentiated, formulated and branded products in China. Latin America is performing strongly as it goes into its peak season, and we saw a pleasing contribution from Europe in its late season. The business growth was further bolstered by continued price increases,” ADAMA president and CEO said in a statement emailed to AFN regarding the results.
Earlier this year, Adama announced a partnership with Israeli aerospace company Tactical Robotics to perform a feasibility study on whether TR’s high-payload drones can be used for aerial spraying. Tactical Robotics has developed a multi-role, high-payload unmanned drone called the Cormorant equipped with vertical-take-off-and-landing capabilities. It can carry a payload of over 500 kilograms, according to the company, and up to 764 kilograms including fuel. Through the new partnership, the duo will attempt to create an aerial spraying device called the Ag Cormorant. Adama hopes to contribute its ag industry-savvy, as well as its farmer-centric approach to the effort.
Publicly-traded Adama has been around since 1945 and has raised $240 million in capital to date. It was acquired by ChemChina in 2017 in a reverse merger.
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