AgroPages-Syngenta says to keep R&D, shrugs off higher oil-Agricultural news

Syngenta will maintain R&D spending of about 10 percent of its revenue to keep a competitive edge, a senior manager of the worlds biggest agrochemical company said on Wednesday.

John Atkin, chief operating officer of Syngentas crop protection, also said surging oil prices would have little impact on earnings as users are able to share the burden of higher costs now that crop prices are near record highs.

The Swiss company last month raised its 2007 outlook. Oil prices have since risen further and hit a record above $99 a barrel in New York last week.

Crop protection accounted for 66 percent of Basel-based Syngentas global sales of $8.05 billion last year, followed by 22 percent in seeds and the remaining 12 percent from others, including gardening.

While Syngenta is interested in building up more seeds business through mergers and acquisitions, the company has no plan to do so in the already consolidated crop protection industry, Atkin said.

Syngenta and rival Bayers Cropscience together take a total 40 percent share in the industry, where the latest news was that the U.S. antitrust authorities approved European private equity firm Permiras [PERM.UL] $2.2 billion purchase of Japanese agrochemical company Arysta LifeScience Corp.