Will ChemChina's Become Less Transparent After Acquiring Syngenta?

Will ChemChina's Become Less Transparent After Acquiring Syngenta?

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
With your Fruit Grower Report, I'm Susan Allen. Earlier this week executives from five seed and crop protection Giants were on Capitol Hill to defend their merger plans before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Phil Brasher from Agripulse was there behind closed doors. Brasher reported that growers expressed concerns over the ChemChina Syngenta acquisition. Some worried ChemChina could use its status as a state-owned entity to claim sovereign immunity to block lawsuits. ChemChina declined to send an executive to the hearing, but Syngenta CEO Erik Fyrwald insisted that his company would remain independent and based in Switzerland. There was also concern that that Syngenta could push its competitors out of the Chinese market and that a merger with ChemChina would have for U.S. farmers and biotech companies.

Here is Phil Brashers take away with the SyngentaChemchina merger:

BRASHER: One of the big concerns there with Syngenta is that China might become even less transparent in its approval of new biotech traits if the state-owned enterprise ChemChina owns one of the major seed companies, Syngenta. Erik Fyrwald who is the CEO of Syngenta insisted that no, it would be the other way around, China by having a financial stake in Syngenta, in biotechnology, would be even more transparent and would in fact accelerate approvals of biotech seeds.

Hum, I wonder what our Packers exporters would say about China's reputation for transparency.

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