Westerlo, Belgium and Guadalajara, Mexico, 28 June 2017

Biobest and Distribuciones IMEX today announced that Biobest has acquired a 100 % equity stake in IMEX. IMEX is a well-known Mexican distributor of environmentally friendly solutions for plant health and pollination, serving the countries’ growing horticultural industry. Biobest and IMEX started collaborating in 2002 with IMEX importing bumblebees from Biobest’s Canadian operation. They became joint venture partners in 2008, setting up Biobest Mexico SA de CV, a company producing bumblebees and beneficials with IMEX distributing these products in the Mexican market. The transaction reflects Biobest’s confidence in the growth potential of sustainable horticulture in Mexico.

Lic. Hugo Hernandez, CEO of IMEX: ”The Mexican market for our products is in full swing. We believe Biobest has the potential to be an excellent partner for the future. I envision a partner for IMEX that is well aligned with our goals and values: providing customers with sound advice and a full suite of safe and natural solutions, creating a solid future for our team and offering an excellent growth opportunity for all of my trusted suppliers. We have successfully worked together with Biobest first importing, then jointly producing bumblebees and beneficials in Biobest Mexico SA de CV. That collaboration provides a strong foundation to be confident and optimistic about the prospect of fully integrating our activities in Mexico. I am pleased to continue leading the company in the coming years.”

Jean-Marc Vandoorne, CEO of Biobest: “This is a good time for a win-win deal with a trusted long term partner. We aim to ensure continuity for the long term and increase our stakes in a market with great potential. Biobest is following an ambitious growth strategy: we simultaneously leverage opportunities for internal growth and growth through acquisition. We value a lot IMEX’s team and its commercial network with customers and international suppliers. As in other transactions we have done, continuity and leveraging the knowledge and the network of both sides will go hand in hand.”

For more information please contact:

• Biobest – Lise Verachtert (lise.verachtert@biobest.be)

• IMEX – Lic. Hugo Hernández (hhernandez@imex.mx)

Borregaard Bioplant ApS and Biobest NV today announced the closing of a transaction under which Biobest acquires an equity stake in Borregaard Bioplant and its Swedish subsidiary Biobasiq Sverige AB.

Steen Borregaard, the company’s founder, remains at the helm of the company. Steen emphasizes that the agreement is structured to ensure continuity: “Borregaard Bioplant will continue to operate as an autonomous company and maintain its customer portfolio as well as its unique setup of various international suppliers. Our customers and suppliers can count on us to maintain and extend the high standard of service and broad range of products.”

Steen Borregaard initiated his activities in the early eighties and established Borregaard Bioplant ApS in 1992. In 2004, the Swedish subsidiary Biobasiq Sverige AB was launched and subsequently Borregaard Bioplant has become the leading supplier of biocontrol solutions to the horticultural industry in Scandinavia.

“We built our success on the capability of our highly skilled team to deliver sound advice to our customers, combining products from different international suppliers”, Steen Borregaard mentions and continues: “After more than 30 years in the business, it was appropriate to look for a long term partner and Biobest was the obvious choice as one of our trusted suppliers for many years. The strategic partnership with Biobest will enable a sustainable development of the company to the benefit of all stakeholders.”

For Biobest, this transaction further strengthens its presence in direct distribution activities in a promising Scandinavian market. The values and vision of Borregaard Bioplant are well aligned with those of the Biobest group. A strong capability to advise customers worldwide on sustainable crop management is what fuels the company’s long-term growth.

Jean-Marc Vandoorne, CEO of Biobest states: ”I take pride in the fact that a highly respected company like Borregaard Bioplant values the long-standing business collaboration that we’ve had and decided to accept Biobest as a shareholder and strategic partner. We know that Steen and his team are driven to provide excellent service and innovative solutions to their customers and we are excited to strengthen our relationship. The transaction further accelerates our global strategy to develop strong interactions with growers, and to offer them a complete range of natural solutions.”

For more information please contact Lise Verachtert (lise.verachtert@biobest.be).

“As it grows Fethiye Agritech is attracting visitors, including growers, distributors and students, from other regions of Turkey,” says Biobest Antalya’s Çağlar Çiftçi. “Regional fairs provide great opportunities to reach Turkish growers, who welcome such events giving them easy access to current and new products and technologies.”

Biobest Antalya started producing two beneficial insects – Nesidiocoris tenuis and Orius laevigatus – towards the end of 2015 becoming the first commercial mass producer in Turkey. Fethiye Agritech provided an opportunity for visitors to see these two beneficial insects in close up.

“Sweet pepper is still the number one crop for IPM in Turkey,” explains Çağlar. “However, the introduction of locally produced Nesidiocoris is now set to boost adoption of IPM technology in Turkish tomato crops – with over 24,000ha of production. Biobest’s product quality and experienced technical services puts it in a strong position to develop this market.

“Turkey’s main export market for vegetables is currently Russia. The market is looking for alternative export destinations not influenced by political issues. IPM provides a path to reach this goal.

“Biobest sustainable crop protection strategies are set to play a significant role in Turkey’s future export business.”

Drosophila suzukii, a pest originally from Asia, is the newest threat to soft fruit growers in southern Europe. Yield losses run into millions. A lot of research is being conducted to develop new methods to control suzukii (including the use of biological predators). With current methods, extensive pest monitoring with traps is essential and Biobest’s Droso Trap™ is the best option.
Drosophila suzukii, also known as Spotted Wing Drosophila, is every year more and more feared among growers of soft fruits in Europe and outside Europe. Females lay eggs inside soft fruits like strawberry, cherry, raspberry and blueberry. Since this vinegar fly species, originally from Asia, invaded many European and American countries, effective control of this pest is high on the agenda of the industry.
A recent international conference organized by Phytoma-España (www.phytoma.com), the Spanish branch of the professional journal Phytoma focused on this pest. The meeting took place on 5 and 6 May in the Polytechnic University of Valencia.
As part of the general pest control strategies a scientific evaluation, of the D. suzukii traps and attractants from different companies, was presented. The results by independent researchers gave serious heart to Biobest’s R&D department. The company’s Droso Trap™ was identified as the best option for trapping D. suzukii. “Several Spanish and French researchers rated the Biobest trap as the most effective one currently available,” says Cristina Navarro researcher who attended the conference. “The project group that performed the evaluation described the Droso Trap™ technology as the reference trap for their trials, both in monitoring and in mass trapping experiments.”