Late last week, a letter came out from Bayer about a situation that has developed in their supply chain for glyphosate products. This letter caused quite a stir in the Ag Twitter Universe.
Copy of letter sent out by Bayer concerning glyphosate supply impact
Dr. Udo Schneider, Global Head of Active Ingredient Manufacturing at Bayer said in the letter, ?One of our key raw material suppliers experienced a mechanical failure in its manufacturing plant which leads to a substantial reduction in production rates. As of now, given the supplier notification, we expect repairs of this production line to take about three months.?
This led Bayer to declare a ?Force Majeure Event.?
So, what does that mean for Iowa farmers, and producers across the country this year? Dr. Schneider went on to say, ?As a result of this Force Majeure Event, Bayer?s Ability to supply its customers with glyphosate-containing products as agreed upon in certain agreements or under accepted purchase orders has been impacted. We apologize for this impact, but hope you appreciate the situation is beyond our reasonable control.?
I reached out to Bayer for additional information now that a few days have gone by. I was informed that there was no one available to comment, but I was given an additional statement from the company.
?The crop chemistry market worldwide is experiencing historically tight supply due to challenging global trade flows, effects of the global pandemic, and other forces which have continued to put pressure on already tight supplies.
?Throughout these situations, Bayer has been working with our customers to help manage supplies and best meet their needs around the world.
?Recently a supplier of a raw ingredient needed to produce glyphosate suffered a mechanical failure which may have some short-term impacts on our production of the active ingredient to manufacture glyphosate.
?Our supplier is on track to restore production, we?ve sourced additional materials and made other mitigation efforts to help best manage this situation.
?We expect any impact to be marginal in terms of our annual glyphosate production.
?The Roundup branded ag herbicide business supply will continue to be balanced through the current ongoing supply management efforts.
?With the world?s leading crop protection portfolio of products, we will continue to work diligently with our customers to address their needs and help them have a successful season.?
If you have any questions about the status of any supply you have on order, contact your local retailer or representative.
