Bayer seeks bigger role in fast-growing Latin American biologicals market

By Roberto Samora

SAO PAULO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Bayer said on Wednesday it will launch 17 new biological products in Latin America by 2030, including biopesticides and crop performance enhancers, as it targets a market growing faster than the global average.

• Bayer currently has more than 40 such products in Latin America, home of agricultural powerhouses including Brazil and Argentina

• While the biologicals sector is growing at an annual rate of 8% globally, growth in Latin America stands at 14% per year

• "The arrival of new products is our main growth driver in this market," Bayer's senior vice president of crop protection and biologicals for Latin America, Luis Offa, said in an interview

• Of the new biological products planned, eight will be launched in Brazil - the world's largest producer of soybeans and sugarcane - where Bayer currently offers three such products

• Bayer also wants to serve fruit and vegetable growers producing for export markets in Chile, Peru and Mexico, according to executives

(Reporting by Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Louise Heavens)