22 February
2024
Plant Health Care
plc
("Plant Health Care" or the "Company")
Mexico approves
SAORI® to Control Diseases in Vegetables, Berries and
Grapes
Plant Health
Care® (AIM.PHC.L), a leading provider of peptides
used by growers to improve crop production and quality within
global agriculture markets, is pleased to announce registration of
the fungicide, SAORI®, in Mexico for
commercial launch.
Highlights
- SAORI is a
novel peptide fungicide which provides farmers with a novel mode of
action to control damaging plant diseases, including Late Blight,
Downy Mildew, and Gray Mold as part of an
integrated disease control program;
- The
Company will be launching SAORI at the end of Q3 of 2024 through
its most important distributors for use by farmers growing berries,
grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes and other solanaceous and
cucurbitaceous crops in Mexico.
SAORI is a broad-spectrum biological
fungicide with a novel mode of action that provides control of
fungal and bacterial plant pathogens across a wide range of
agricultural crops. When used as part of an integrated
disease control program, SAORI provides growers with a low use
rate, environmentally friendly option to displace established
synthetic chemical fungicides and provide improved overall disease
control, crop yield and harvest quality. SAORI is safe for
growers and farm workers and is exempt from Maximum Residue Limit
(MRL) restrictions which gives greater access to high value export
markets. Control of Gray Mold (Botrytis cinerea) in berries and
grapes, Downy Mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) in
cucurbits such as cucumbers, and Late Blight (Phytothphora infestans) in tomatoes
and other Solanaceae crops are claims listed on the initial SAORI
product label with additional claims on other crops and
phytopathogens to follow in the future. The current planted area in
Mexico for berries totals 55,000 hectares, tomato 48,000 hectares,
peppers 150,000 hectares and potato 60,000 hectares. Mexico is the
world's largest exporter of cucumbers and production of cucumbers
in Mexico is expected to reach 1.02 million metric tons by
2026. In 2022, the plant-applied biopesticides market in
Mexico, which includes both biofungicides and bioinsecticides, was
estimated at $200 million, growing at a CAGR of %14.3.
The Company submitted the SAORI
application for regulatory review to the Federal Committee for
Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) in September 2023.
The regulatory process in Mexico for agricultural products involves
a detailed and comprehensive review of standard safety and
performance data including replicated small plot field trials to
confirm product efficacy.
SAORI is a novel
product based
on the Company's innovative PREtec technology platform. Derived
from natural proteins, PREtec is an environmentally
friendly technology which stimulates plant defense and
pathogen resistance mechanisms within plants. Years of research,
field testing, and commercial experience have confirmed that
PREtec products deliver
improved crop growth, harvest quality, and grower
profitability.
Compared with alternative biological
products, SAORI brings highly consistent product efficacy across a
broad spectrum of application and environmental conditions and is
compatible with fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides in
tank-mix and sequential application systems. SAORI has a
two-year shelf-life with no special requirements for storing or
handling, which allows greater flexibility within the distribution
channel and ease of on-farm application.
Jeff Tweedy, CEO of Plant Health Care,
said: ‟I am pleased with the
rapid approval of SAORI by COFEPRIS. The smooth approval process
was completed well ahead of forecast and validates all the hard
work undertaken by the Company to submit a comprehensive data
package demonstrating the safety and efficacy of SAORI.
‟As the 11th largest global food
producer, Mexico provides a tremendous opportunity for the adoption
of SAORI to support sustainable agriculture. Building on the
current success of our ProAct® biostimulant, our
dedicated team in Mexico is already laying the groundwork to get
SAORI into the hands of farmers later this year to
help Mexican farmers sustainably produce their vegetable and berry crops.
The approval of SAORI supports the Company's vision to be a leading
global provider of alternatives to conventional synthetic
agrochemicals. We are excited about the developing plans to launch
SAORI in 2024, with strong growth thereafter."
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For
further information, please contact:
Plant Health Care plc Jeff
Tweedy, CEO
|
Tel: +1 919 926 1600
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited - Nomad &
Broker Neil
McDonald / Pete Lynch
|
Tel: +44 (0) 131 220 9771
|
About Plant Health Care
Plant Health Care offers products to
improve the health, vigour and yield of major field crops such as
corn, soybeans, sugarcane, potatoes, rice, and wheat, 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 www.planthealthcare.com