Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany, announced that a production shutdown by one of its suppliers will reduce output of glyphosate, constituting a force majeure event for the company. Glyphosate is a key ingredient in herbicides, including the Roundup brand, which Bayer acquired from Monsanto.
“One of our key raw material suppliers experienced a mechanical failure in its manufacturing plant, which leads to a substantial reduction in production rates,” said Dr. Udo Schneider, Global Head of Active Ingredient Manufacturing for Bayer, in a Feb. 11 letter to customers. “As of now, given the supplier notification, we expect repairs of this production line to take around three months.
“As a result of this force majeure event, Bayer’s ability to supply its customers with glyphosate or glyphosate-containing products, as agreed upon in certain agreements or under purchase orders, has been impacted,” Schneider continued. “We apologize for this impact, but hope you appreciate this situation is beyond our reasonable control.”
A Bayer spokesman told Bloomberg that the global crop chemistry market “is experiencing historically tight supply” because of challenging trade flows and the pandemic. Bayer previously said that glyphosate pricing had gained 25 percent between January 2021 and November, and that the company expected prices to keep rising.
“Our supplier is on track to restore production, we’ve sourced additional materials and made other mitigation efforts to help best manage this situation,” the spokesman said.