PHC.L Regulatory News (PHC)

13 Nov 2006 07:01

Plant Health Care PLC13 November 2006 13 November 2006 Plant Health Care plc ("PHC" of "the Company") Plant Health Care announces exclusive supply agreement with Tate & Lyle and receives its largest order in Company history Plant Health Care plc, the leading provider of natural products to theagriculture and landscaping industries is pleased to announce that it hassecured from Tate & Lyle an exclusive agreement for the use of a by-product ofTate & Lyle's European molasses fermentation process in North America andMexico. This forms the base for Plant Heath Care's non GMO certified organicfertiliser, Organic Plant Food ("OPF"). Plant Heath Care also announces its first US distribution agreement for OPF withADG LLC, a California based agricultural distribution company. The agreementspecifies an opening order for over $1.0 million, the single largest order inthe company's history, for immediate delivery. ADG is a newly formeddistribution company owned by David Griffin, a principal in Salinas basedShamrock Seeds. OPF is one of only a very few organic plant based fertilisers in the world thatcontains a high nitrogen content, making it a real alternative to the moretraditional animal fertilisers. Importantly for the farming community, the OPFformulation contains almost 100% more nitrogen than the current plant-basedproducts on the market, which the company believes will allow the yield oforganic crops to approach that of conventional crops. The Board believes thatOPF will offer the lowest price per unit of nitrogen for any liquid organicproduct currently on the market. This distribution agreement marks the start of PHC's strategy to capture a majorshare of the rapidly growing US organic agricultural market. OPF has alreadyseen steady growth in demand in Europe over the past two years, and the Board isconfident of a similar success in North America. Not only does the NorthAmerican market boast one of the largest vegetable industries for organic cropsin the world, but, as a result of the recent E.Coli outbreak in the US, there isan enormous demand for non-animal based fertilisers. John Brady, CEO of Plant Health Care, commented, "We are delighted to sign ourfirst US distribution agreement for OPF and receive the largest order in thecompany's history. It is a great opportunity for Plant Health Care to become oneof the dominant players in the organic fertiliser market which is worth around$7million to $8 million a year in California alone. We are confident that OPFcan gain a major market share as it offers the farming community a safealternative, whilst fulfilling all their requirements and at a low cost. "We are already in discussions with a number of other distributors in the US,Canada and Mexico" -ends- For further information: Plant Health Care plc Tavistock CommunicationsJohn Brady, Chief Executive Jeremy Carey+1 603 525 3702 Tel: 020 7920 3150 email: jcarey@tavistock.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange