Arab News, Monday, Jan 23, 2023 | Rajab 1, 1444
Saudi Arabia signs $1bn deal with Indian firm to produce specialized agricultural chemicals
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s
Ministry of Investment has signed an agreement worth $1 billion to manufacture
specialized agriculture chemicals within the Kingdom.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the
recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The ministry signed the agreement with an Indian
company, UPL Limited, which markets and manufactures agrochemicals and offers
crop protection solutions.
The new agreement comes in line with the goals
outlined in Vision 2030, which eyes diversifying the Kingdom’s economic
streams.
Headquartered in Mumbai, UPL, which acquired
Arysta LifeScience Inc. in 2019, is currently the fifth-largest generic
agrochemicals company in the world after Bayer, Dupont, Syngenta and BASF.
In December, Sustainalytics, a company that rates
the sustainability of listed companies based on their environmental, social and
corporate governance performance, ranked the highest-performing top-tier global
crop protection company in its 2022 ESG rating.
This is the third year UPL has been ranked in this
industry leadership position for sustainability performance by
Sustainalytics.
“I am convinced UPL has the most agile and
performance-oriented culture to execute a transformational strategy across the
globe and to further our mission to support farmers and food systems alike,”
said Jai Shroff, global CEO at UPL Ltd.
In December 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of
Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli, who
is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Agricultural Development
Fund, approved the expansion plan in the plant resources sector and greenhouses
with new investments valued at SR4 billion ($1.09 billion) until 2025.
According to Al-Fadhli, the investment will help
Saudi Arabia to increase its production capacity in the agricultural sector by
adopting new technologies.