Strategic Partnership Formed in Brazil for the Veterinary Medicine Business

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) has entered a letter of intent  to form  a strategic partnership with Ourofino Saúde Animal (Head Office: Cravinhos, São Paulo, Brazil: Representative: Jardel Massari), a Brazilian veterinary medicine manufacturer, for the joint evaluation and exploration of businesses opportunities in the veterinary medicine sector in Brazil.
Sumitomo Corporation will discuss with Ourofino the sale of Japan-made veterinary medicines and licensing of manufacturing technologies to Ourofino, as well as the supply of veterinary medicine ingredients to the company. Sumitomo Corporation will thereby contribute to the spread of high-quality veterinary medicines in Brazil and also help Japanese companies to start related businesses in South America.

Brazil is the world’s leading livestock country, with the number of cattle being the world’s largest and the numbers of pigs and chickens the world’s third- and fourth-largest, respectively. In the future, the importance of the country as a livestock exporter will rise with an increase in demand for meat caused by the growth of the world’s population and the improvement of living standards in Asia and other emerging economies.

Moreover, Brazil is also ranked as the world’s No. 2, following the United States, in terms of the number of companion dogs. The present size of the Brazilian veterinary medicine market is about 170 billion yen, having grown by more than 8% on average annually since 2012, and will continue to expand steadily.

Ourofino is the largest local veterinary medicine manufacturer in Brazil and is widely known in the country. It has a wide product lineup for veterinary medicines for both livestock and companion animal, and exports its products to countries across the world. It is highly competitive both in manufacturing and sales activities.

Since its 2015 acquisition of a 25% share in Shandong Sinder Technology, a Chinese veterinary medicine manufacturer, Sumitomo Corporation has been expanding its livestock medicine business across the world, including selecting a sales agent for the Chinese manufacturer in Myanmar. Based on the partnership formed in Brazil, Sumitomo Corporation will work to expand the business across the country and to other South and Central American regions, Africa and Asia, thereby contributing to meeting the increasing demand for meat and food safety/security.

Furthermore, in September 2017 Sumitomo Corporation invested in Piedmont Animal Health, a US company that develops pioneering veterinary medicines for companion animal, and in February 2018 invested in Petgo, a Japanese pet supplies e-commerce firm, thereby expanding the companion animal medicine business.

Sumitomo Corporation will continue to find good medicines for livestock and companion animals to contribute to animal health in cooperation with its excellent domestic and overseas partners.

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