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In North America, focus on glyphosate resistant weeds
will unlock a large business opportunity potential
In South America, there is a huge potential for metobromuron, mainly in
soybean but also in corn. Belchim does not sell product directly on this
continent but through distributors. First sales of Proman are expected
in 2024. Subsequent plans are to switch to two ready-to-use mixtures:
metobromuron + clomazone and metobromuron + S metolachlor, in
order to tailor the value proposition to specific crop needs, as in the USA.
Soybean and corn varieties in South America are also GM herbicide tolerant.
Consequently, metobromuron will target glyphosate resistant weeds.
Overall, the business opportunity of metobromuron in South America is at
least equivalent to its potential in Europe including Ukraine.
Huge potential in South America
In the US and Canada, the metobromuron potential is currently being
assessed, taking into account the specificities of the North American
markets. First registrations will include soybean, sunflower and potato and
are expected to be granted in 2025/26. Belchim’s commercial focus will
clearly be on soybean, with future plans for corn, cotton and tobacco. Several
of these crops are GMO and resistant to foliar herbicides, which represents a
major difference from the situation in the European markets. Nevertheless,
the first analysis has confirmed significant market interest in metobromuron,
especially to address the challenge with glyphosate resistant weeds.
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