Plant Health Regulatory News (PHC)

RNS

22 September 2021

Plant Health Care and Nutrien Ag Solutions to Commercially Launch New SaoriTM Soybean Seed Treatment in Brazil

Plant Health Care® (AIM: PHC.L,) a leading provider of novel patent-protected biological products to global agriculture markets, is pleased to announce a key milestone for the Company through a new partnership with Nutrien Ag Solutions to launch its novel SaoriTM soybean seed treatment in Brazil.

Highlights

· Saori, based on Plant Health Care's PHC279, makes soy plants healthier, improves resistance to disease and increases yield.

· Brazil is the world's largest producer of soybeans (40 m hectares forecast next season); Saori is a novel technology for Brazil soybean farmers to grow better crops more sustainably.

· Saori was approved for sale in January 2021 for the control of Asian soybean rust, after only 12 months of government regulatory evaluation, based on its effectiveness and sustainability profile.

· Saori will be made available this season by Nutrien Ag Solutions on a limited basis to leading soybean growers, with wide adoption within Brazil expected to take place during the 2022/23 season and thereafter.

Background

Saori is the Company's first product from its PREtec platform to be commercialized and is the first PREtec peptide approved in Brazil. PREtec peptides represent a novel class of technology which stimulate 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. 

Brazil is the world's leading soybean producer with more than 40 million hectares (99 million acres) expected to be planted in the 2021/22 season. Asian soybean rust, caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is a devastating disease which can lead to crop yield loss of up to 90%. Brazilian soybean farmers spent US$2.85 billion on disease control in the 2019/20 season.

Nutrien Ag Solutions is the retail business of Nutrien, the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services. They have built a major presence in Brazil through acquisitions over recent years.

Chris Richards, CEO of Plant Health Care said, ‟I am very pleased to partner with Nutrien Ag Solutions for the launch of Saori in Brazil this season. Nutrien has demonstrated their commitment to developing sustainable agricultural solutions and Saori is a natural fit with their strategy. With multiple channels for putting Saori into the hands of Brazilian soybean growers, I am confident that Nutrien Ag Solutions is the very best partner for Saori. The launch of Saori is a key milestone for Plant Health Care and I look forward to seeing it used on millions of soybean hectares in the coming years."

"We're committed to investing in the development of global and regionally-specific new biopesticide technologies like Saori. This farm-focused technology partnership with Plant Health Care helps drive a positive impact for our grower customers.", said Dr. Ryan Bond, senior director of crop protection and nutrition innovation at Nutrien Ag Solutions.

About Plant Health Care

Plant Health Care offers products to improve the health, vigour and yield of major field crops such as corn, soybeans, potatoes and rice, as well as specialty crops such as fruits and vegetables. We operate globally through subsidiaries, distributors and supply agreements with major industry partners. Our innovative, patent-protected biological products help growers to protect their crops from stress and diseases, and to produce higher quality fruit and vegetables, with a favourable environmental profile. Find out more at Vox Markets and the company website: www.planthealthcare.com

About Nutrien

Nutrien is the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services, playing a critical role in helping growers increase food production in a sustainable manner. We produce and distribute 27 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products world-wide. With this capability and our leading agriculture retail network, we are well positioned to supply the needs of our customers. We operate with a long-term view and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we address our economic, environmental and social priorities. The scale and diversity of our integrated portfolio provides a stable earnings base, multiple avenues for growth and the opportunity to return capital to shareholders.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

For further information, please contact:

Plant Health Care plc-

Tel: +1 919 926 1600

Chris Richards, CEO

Arden Partners plc - Nomad & Joint Broker

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7614 5900

John Llewellyn-Lloyd / Antonio Bossi

Cenkos Securities plc - Joint Broker

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7391 8900

Neil McDonald / Peter Lynch

Vox Markets - Digital investor relations

Tel: +44 (0) 7866 384707

Paul Cornelius / Kat Perez

Nutrien Media Relations

Luciane Reis

Luciane.Reis@Nutrien.com