Monsanto will pull out of Brazil's sugarcane business, the world agricultural chemical network reported on Oct. 7. A company representative said monsanto had been reviewing its product portfolio and growth prospects and, after careful assessment, decided to focus on its main business and drop out of the Cana Vials brand sugar cane market. Monsanto said it would discuss possible technology transfers with other companies to enable the progress already made to continue to contribute to Brazil's sugar cane industry chain.
In 2008, monsanto paid $290 million for Brazilian sugarcane breeding company Aly Participacoes Ltda. Aly Participacoes Ltda. Operates two companies: Cana Vialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A. Monsanto said its initial choice to invest in the sugar cane business was based on the consideration of gaining market share in several areas of the bioenergy industry chain. In Brazil, sugar cane is used to produce ethanol and can be used to launch cars for domestic and export markets.
However, as global energy and bio-energy markets have changed and the global economy has weakened in recent years, a number of agro-chemical companies have suffered a setback due to the impact of climate, commodity prices and exchange rates, and monsanto also announced plans to cut costs and streamline operations in its latest earnings report. It has also forced monsanto to abandon its volatile and potentially volatile business and focus on its seed, plant protection and new precision agriculture businesses, where it has a core technology group, to explore new market opportunities in other crops. According to Rodrigo Santos, President of monsanto Brazil, the company will focus on seeds, plant protection and biologics and digital agriculture in Brazil, where it already invested $150 million in 2015.
