Can you discuss Valent de México's recent news and the significance of its 30th anniversary?

Valent de México celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024, marking a significant milestone. In May, we organized an annual convention for all employees, their partners, and esteemed guests from our corporate group, Sumitomo Chemical. This anniversary emphasized our commitment to transforming the company by blending innovation and science to address environmental challenges while aligning with Sumitomo's global sustainability goals. 

Our core focus is on safe food production within Mexico and promoting sustainable practices through strategic alliances and training programs for field technicians. 

Plant intelligence is one of our core divisions, established some years back. Through this division, we provide premium, high-profit products sourced primarily from third-party suppliers and continually assess new products to add to our portfolio. Additionally, we are investing in the biocontrol market. This sector represents a $104 million market in Mexico, with biological fungicides, insecticides, and plant growth regulators (PGRs) taking precedence. VdM participates with a 17.6% market share, mainly in PGRs and insecticides. On the other hand, VdM is developing +10 new products to drive additional growth for the near future, including materials from FB Sciences, a company recently acquired in the US. 

Looking at agricultural trends, where does Valent see growth opportunities?

Growth is a testament to our practical business model and strategic initiatives. Our primary growth area lies in high-value crops with promising profit margins for our distribution network. Specifically, our focus is on tree fruits and vegetables, being the most important grapes, apples, tomato, peppers, cucurbits, as well as crucifers and berries. Our strategy prioritizes sustainable agricultural solutions and relies heavily on partnerships with large-scale producers and distributors to enhance efficiency and align with global trends. By fostering educational interactions with clients and distributors, we aim to grow awareness and market presence, even amidst legislative pressures. We believe it is crucial to maintain a voluntary culture supporting sustainable practices.

What challenges do you foresee for the agrochemical sector?

The Mexican government has adopted stringent regulations on crop protection products over the past six years. These restrictions often necessitate legal action, as the industry is facing rejections for product registrations or renewals. Fortunately, Valent de México has maintained a 100% success rate in securing protection rulings, which helps us stay aligned with our sustainability and product development goals, though they  comes at a high cost. 

Recently, a government official suggested reverting to manual-ecological agricultural practices, which we consider unfeasible. Such a shift would reduce industry competitiveness by 40%, impacting businesses of all sizes. Drought is another pressing issue, as it directly affects productivity. Our role at Valent is to push for innovative product solutions that are both efficient and environmentally compliant, supporting food production in Mexico.

How does innovation help Valent tackle sustainability challenges?

Valent has five core values: safety, focus, teamwork, integrity, and innovation. Each one receives particular emphasis to reinforce its importance across our employees, internal partners, and business collaborators. Innovation offers boundless potential. VdM  specializes in offering biorational and biological products, including differentiated plant growth regulators and other biorational solutions that maximize crop protection and agricultural production while minimizing environmental impact, which is essential given the challenges of climate change. 

This commitment reinforces Valent de México's leadership in making agriculture more efficient and sustainable, empowering to be more assertive in promoting our products, ensuring  crops get the necessary protection instead of relying on minimal intervention, which limits crop health and productivity.

What are Valent de México's strategic priorities for the coming year?

Our primary goals include ensuring efficient and sustainable processes, exploring strategic partnerships with key distributors to retain and grow market share, executing impactful marketing programs, and optimizing resources.  On the demand side, we are building solid relationships with distributors and producers to support our premium portfolio and conventional brands. Staying ahead of market trends and anticipating challenges allows us to respond better to industry demands, including regulatory shifts and climate-related challenges.