Running Low on Glyphosate? Crop Input Shortage Saga Grows Deeper
Shortages of key herbicides were already predicted to be a problem for 2022. That situation has gone from bad to worse in a matter of days.
According to a Feb. 11 letter sent to customers from Dr. Udo Schneider, Bayer Crop Science Global Head of Active Ingredient Manufacturing, one of the company’s key raw material suppliers experienced a mechanical failure in its manufacturing plant, which is resulting in a “substantial reduction” in production rates. The letter said the failure constituted a “force majeure” event, and as a result, “Bayer’s ability to supply its customers with glyphosate or glyphosate-containing products as agreed upon in certain agreements or under accepted purchase orders has been impacted.”
The letter continued, “We apologize for this impact, but hope you appreciate this situation is beyond our reasonable control.”
Bayer confirmed the legitimacy of the letter to CropLife and provided a statement on the matter.
However, the next day, Bayer spokesman Kyel Richard offered a more strongly worded statement to CropLife than the one offered the day before:
“While their failure, and the resulting shortfall in product, will have some near-term impacts on our active ingredient production for glyphosate, we are working through those challenges and do not expect a significant impact to the supply of our branded Roundup products in the U.S.
“Our supplier is on track to restore capacity quickly and we’ve sourced additional raw materials and made other changes in production in the interim to help best manage the situation.”
As of now, given the supplier notification, Bayer said it expects repairs of the production line to take around three months.
For more, continue reading at CropLife.com.
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