By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -UPL, an India-based producer of agrochemicals and seeds, remains committed to expanding its business in Brazil, where it currently holds a market share of about 10%, its CEO said on Monday.
The company is continually investing in the South American country, one of the world’s biggest food producers, as its products, which range from conventional herbicides and insecticides to biological pesticides, help farmers boost crop yields, CEO Jai Shroff said in an interview with Reuters.
“We are always doing that, it is an ongoing process, I am sure that there is some expansion going on now,” he said, referring to the company’s Salto de Pirapora plant in Sao Paulo state. “We have a very large factory. So in the same factory we keep building new capacity,” he said.
UPL, which derives about 40% of its global revenue in Latin America, does not give a breakdown of sales by country.
Shroff said that nevertheless, Brazil receives about 20% of the firm’s global investments, amounting to about $100 million per year in research and industrial projects.
UPL products are purchased by farmers who grow soybeans, corn, coffee and fruit, among other commodities, according to Shroff, who said he travels to Brazil three or four times a year.
(Reporting by Ana Mano and Roberto Samora in Sao PauloEditing by Matthew Lewis)
