Jeff Tweedy of Plant health Care discusses the significance of their new distribution agreement with Nutrien

Jeff Tweedy, newly appointed CEO of Plant health Care #PHC discusses the significance of their new distribution agreement with Nutrien, the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services, for its Saori® soybean seed treatment, the first product to be launched from their PREtec platform.

Highlights

·   PHC and Nutrien have now signed a five-year commercial agreement under which Plant Health Care will supply Saori for Nutrien's use on soybeans in Brazil.

·     Saori was launched by Nutrien in September 2021; grower response has been very positive.

·   PHC's revenue from sales of Saori to Nutrien is expected to exceed US$750k in the first half of 2022, growing to more than US$5m by 2025.

·   Nutrien expects to treat approximately 150,000 hectares of soybeans in 2022, expanding to more than one million hectares by 2025.

·    The Total Addressable Market for Saori in Brazil in 2022 is estimated at 40 million hectares of soybean fields.

·   Saori-treated fields were healthier and more robust, with lower incidence of disease compared to untreated fields. 

·   In PHC's own trials, the average yield increase was almost 10%.

Background

Plant Health Care has invested more than $25 million in its PREtec peptide technology platform ("Vaccines for Plants").  PREtec is a novel class of technology which stimulates the plant to defend itself.  Derived from natural proteins, PREtec is an environmentally friendly approach to protecting crops and is compatible with mainstream agricultural practices. 

The Company plans major launches of PREtec products every year.  Saori was the first product to be launched from the PREtec platform and is based on Plant Health Care's PHC279, a novel technology that makes soy plants healthier, improves resistance to multiple diseases and increases yield.

Ongoing field trials in Brazil with more than 200 soybean farmers in the 2021/22 season confirmed the benefits of Saori.  Initial reports indicated Saori-treated fields were healthier and more robust, with lower incidence of disease compared to untreated fields.  In PHC's own trials, the average yield increase was almost 10% and more than 90% of the Saori-treated fields showed a positive response.

With 40 million hectares (99 million acres) of soybeans planted in Brazil, this is a very large opportunity.  Brazilian soybean farmers spent US$2.85 billion on disease control in the 2019/20 season. Saori offers a highly cost-effective tool to farmers to reduce spend on disease control and to increase yield.