Enhancing customer technical support for expanded sales of feed additive methionine in Central and South America

Oct. 17, 2017

Sumitomo Chemical has decided to set up animal feed analysis capabilities anew at the Latin America Research Center, operated by its Group company Sumitomo Chemical Brazil, which will provide technical support services for feed millers who are customers of Sumitomo Chemical’s methionine. Starting in the first quarter of FY2018, the Research Center will launch services of analyzing major ingredients in animal feed, such as corn and soybean meal.

Sumitomo Chemical sells methionine in more than 70 countries around the world. In Asia, the Company has already been providing animal feed analysis services through its Malaysian subsidiary. Given that the growth of a methionine demand in recent years is conspicuous in Central and South American countries, Sumitomo Chemical intends to fortify its customer technical support from the Research Center in Brazil, aiming to accelerate sales expansion more broadly in the region.

Methionine is an essential amino acid and cannot be synthesized within an animal body. Poultry feed, which is mainly made up of corn, often does not contain a sufficient quantity of methionine. As a result, methionine is widely used as a feed additive mainly in a poultry diet to increase productivity of chicken meat and eggs. When feed millers add methionine to an animal feed, they determine an appropriate quantity of methionine which is to be added, according to proportions of nutritional ingredients contained in the feed. This requires analyzing individual ingredients of the feed beforehand.

Looking ahead, a food demand is likely to increase as the world population continues to grow. Accordingly, the methionine market is likewise expected to keep expanding significantly in the future. In light of this long-term outlook, Sumitomo Chemical is currently working to expand a methionine manufacturing capability at its Ehime Works in Japan by 100,000 tons per annum, and the new production line is due to be operational in the third quarter of FY2018. Sumitomo Chemical will continue to expand its methionine business worldwide by further solidifying its global technical support stronghold through, among other things, rendering the animal feed analysis services not just in Central and South America, but elsewhere in the world.

Overview of the Latin America Research Center

Overview of Sumitomo Chemical Brazil

Name	Sumitomo Chemical do Brasil Representações Limitada
Location	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Established	June 1975
Capitalization	12,059,000 Brazilian reals (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical)
Business	Development, distribution and sales of crop protection products, household and public hygiene insecticides, and feed additives in Latin America

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