Providing the world with high-quality crop protection products and contributing to stable food production

While Japan's population has taken a downturn, the global population continues to increase. The United Nations forecasts that the world's population, currently about 7.3 billion, will be 8.5 billion in 2030 and nearly 10 billion in 2050. A rising population needs a proportionally greater volume of food, but there are limits to the arable land available on the earth. Boosting agricultural production requires improving the yield per unit area.

The power of crop protection products(CPP)s become more important in that regard. Based on data from the Japan Crop Protection Association, cultivating agricultural produce without the insecticidal, fungicidal and herbicidal benefits of CPPs would reduce yield by 24% for rice, 36% for wheat, and as high as 97% for apples and such fruits. Making adept use of CPPs to bolster the productivity of agricultural produce would be a challenge common in the world.

Japan's CPP manufacturers boast world-class R&D capabilities. Among the global top 30 CPP manufactures by sales in 2024, Japanese manufactures account for 10. They specialize in specific crops and applications, and their advanced technological capabilities and unique approach to product development have earned them international recognition. Furthermore, numerous manufacturers within Japan produce high-quality CPPs.

The primary mission of Sumitomo Corporation's agricultural business is to deliver the CPPs manufactured by these Japanese manufactures worldwide and contribute to enhancing crop productivity.

Sumitomo Corporation began exporting Japanese-CPPs in the 1970s and has continued to do ever since, expanding its scope of operations through business companies in various countries. The Company currently exports CPPs to 110 countries worldwide through our overseas network in 38 major agricultural countries.

Since the 1990s, Sumitomo Corporation has expanded its business scope to include importing and wholesaling in the countries to which it exports CPPs, and developed a business model of importing and wholesaling Japanese-CPPs as well as seeds, specialty fertilizers and other products in line with market needs in these countries.

In the 2010s, the Company purchased agricultural material retailers overseas and also adopted a business model of directly selling CPPs and other agriculture-related products to farmers (Agricultural Input & Service business).

Under this business model, Sumitomo Corporation acquired Alcedo in Romania in 2011, Agro Amazonia in Brazil in 2015, and Spectr in Ukraine in 2018 as subsidiaries.

In 2024, we acquired Naturevo in Romania through Alcedo and invested in Hop Tri Summit, an agricultural input distributor in Vietnam, in November 2024. We have steadily expanded our business scale.

The history of Sumitomo Corporation's CPP business for past 50 years or so has been the one of expanding business from upstream to downstream in the CPP value chain. It started with exporting high-quality Japanese-CPPs, gradually got involved locally in importing and wholesaling, and then has developed channels for directly selling goods to farmers.

Sumitomo Corporation has a network in Japan for obtaining CPPs from most major manufacturers, and it is able to provide Japanese-CPPs worldwide by making full use of an export network as a globally integrated trading company. Sumitomo Corporation is able to leverage its brand credibility, financial resources and operational capabilities to develop wholesaling and retailing businesses in the value chain, constituting the Sumitomo Corporation Group's strength in this sector.

Furthermore, in the future, we expect to see the introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the agriculture/livestock sector and the improvement of productivity and traceability through data utilization and the development of biotechnologies that contribute to reducing environmental impact. For example, methods to optimize growth management and use of materials and water resources using satellites and drones in the agricultural sector, and to improve disease resistance in the livestock and dairy industries through genome testing and advanced feed additive technologies, are about to be realized. While keeping an eye on such latest technologies, we must also cooperate with related business divisions and external partners to provide strong support to farmers. This is one of our goals in the agricultural materials business (including CPP business).

At the same time, to further strengthen our sales capabilities, we have begun expanding our product portfolio while complementing Japanese CPPs. We are currently focused on strengthening our business foundation in the bio-pesticide and fertilizer sector. Sumitomo Corporation invested in Spain's Futureco in 2017, Chile's Bio Insmos Nativa in 2024, and the U.S.'s DPH Biologicals in 2025.

Sumitomo Corporation will continue taking on challenges throughout the entire CPP value chain to support the production of food that forms the very foundation for human activity and thereby help ensure stable food supplies on a global scale.