Syngenta CEO: First quarter sales in China increased by 41%, MAP model has been a surprising success

According to the first quarter fiscal report of the Syngenta Group, its sales increased by 20% year-on-year to reach $7.1 billion, including $2.2 billion in business income in China attributable to the satisfactory business performance of the Chinese market.

“First quarter sales in the Chinese market increased by 41% compared to the same period last year, which is the highest growth rate among all countries. This is unbelievable,” Fyrwald said, during an interview with a Chinese media outlet.

End-to-End Tracing: The Future of Agriculture

Fyrwald stated that as far as the global market is concerned, Syngenta’s primary business has developed rapidly, where its crop protection, seed and crop nutrition businesses achieved a growth rate of 20%. Among them, the modern agriculture platform (MAP) showed the most dynamic growth, with a rate of 300% in the first quarter of this year, reaching sales of $286 million.

Concerning MAP, Fyrwald stressed that this business unit did not exist four years ago but has now grown into 360 MAP centers in China. This rapid roll-out would not have been possible without the support of local Chinese governments. This service platform enables soil sampling and analysis, which form the basis of the selection of seeds, crops and fertilizers, whilst crop protection solutions and response measures to natural disasters are being developed.

In China, the MAP model is a “surprising success.” Because of improved soil quality and the reduction in the use of fertilizers and insecticides, yields have increased, eventually resulting in greater income and reducing pollution.

To Fyrwald's surprise, this approach in the Chinese market has attracted the attention of many retailers and consumers from the start. Syngenta later attempted the introduction of fresh fruits and vegetables into the prime food e-platform of FreshHema. For example, a map is displayed on a strawberry box and scanning a QR code will show the origin of products and the name of relevant farms, as well as the product’s sustainability data.

“This is a great business model, and end-to-end tracing and data control can only happen in China. Currently, there are no other places that can completely process end-to-end data like what can be done in the Chinese market,” Fyrwald said.

According to Fyrwald, this could be more successful because Chinese consumers are keen to acquire the digital information of products and are familiar with using digital technology. Therefore, Chinese retailers are willing to use front-end digital tools to track the whole supply chain, connecting consumers and farmers.