5 December 2014
Plant Health Care signs Development & Distribution
agreement with Arysta LifeScience
Plant Health Care (AIM: PHC.L), a leading provider of novel biological products to global agriculture markets, announces that it has signed a development & distribution agreement with Arysta LifeScience Limited for the use of Plant Health Care's proprietary protein technology for foliar application to sugar cane in Brazil. Commercial terms were not disclosed.
Under this agreement, Arysta LifeScience will evaluate the technology across a range of geographical locations throughout Brazil. The expanded testing program will generate detailed information on increased biomass and sucrose production, which in earlier studies showed significant and reliable increases in yield.
Pending local registration and consistent and reliable test results in the evaluation program, first sales of the product are anticipated in the 2017 crop season.
Sugarcane is an important crop in Brazil, covering more than 8,000,000 hectares. Much of this cane is used for ethanol production, which is a major pillar in the renewable fuel policy of the Brazilian government.
"We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Arysta LifeScience to bring this proprietary protein technology to such a commercially significant crop in Brazil," said Paul Schmidt, CEO of Plant Health Care. "This is another step forward in the implementation of Plant Health Care's dual-track strategy of substantially growing revenue from existing products whilst pursuing an aggressive R&D focus on new technology development."
"We are excited about the opportunity to expand the organization's portfolio in sugarcane," added Paula Pinto, Global Head of Marketing at Arysta LifeScience. "The addition of the proprietary protein technology will provide sugarcane farmers the opportunity to significantly increase yield and sugar production in ratoon cane."
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About Plant Health Care plc: Plant Health Care plc ("Plant Health Care") is a leading provider of novel patent protected biological products to global agriculture markets. The Company's ordinary shares have been quoted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange since July 2004 (ticker symbol/mnemonic: PHC.L). The Company offers products to improve the health, vigor and yield of major field crops as well as specialty crops such as fruits and vegetables. PHC's innovative line of patent protected products provides both economic and environmental benefits for customers and capitalizes upon long-term trends towards natural systems and biological solutions to promote plant health and growth. Plant Health Care has global reach through operating subsidiaries and supply agreements with major industry partners.
About Arysta LifeScience
Arysta LifeScience is one of the world's largest privately held crop protection and life science companies with 2013 revenues of US$1.6 billion. An entrepreneurial provider of crop protection and life science products in more than 125 countries worldwide, Arysta LifeScience specializes in marketing and distribution of respected crop protection brands and life science products that meet the needs of our global partners. More information on the company is available at: www.arystalifescience.com.
Further information is available at: www.planthealthcare.com or please contact:
Plant Health Care plc |
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Paul Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer |
Tel: +1-919-926-1600 (x100) |
Jeff Hovey, Chief Financial Officer |
Tel: +1-919-926-1600 (x101) |
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Liberum Clayton Bush / Steven Tredget |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2227 |
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Powerscourt |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446 |
Sophie Moate / Tessa Berry |
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Arysta LifeScience Linda Frerichs, Global Communications Manager |
Tel: +1-919-678-4948 |