Syngenta Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) has announced its decision to commercially exit the paraquat herbicide market across Australia and New Zealand, citing a combination of regulatory, manufacturing, logistical and commercial challenges that have rendered its paraquat portfolio financially unviable. The move follows the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority's (APVMA) recent regulatory decision on paraquat and a comprehensive commercial review undertaken by the company.
The decision marks the end of Syngenta's long-standing presence in the paraquat herbicide segment, despite the product's established role in supporting weed management, productivity and conservation farming across Australia and New Zealand. According to the company, sustained pricing pressure from generic competitors has significantly eroded profitability over recent years, making continued investment in the legacy portfolio increasingly difficult.
Commercial viability has been further undermined by structural changes within the supply chain. Syngenta's local toll manufacturing partner has ceased formulation of paraquat herbicide products, while the closure of specialised hazardous chemical warehouses has reduced local storage infrastructure. Establishing new formulation and storage facilities that meet regulatory and safety requirements would require substantial capital investment, making continued operations commercially unsustainable.
The company said the decision enables it to redirect resources towards developing and commercialising advanced crop protection technologies that support long-term agricultural productivity and sustainability. Syngenta added that increasing regulatory requirements, coupled with an increasingly complex and costly supply chain, have fundamentally altered the economics of maintaining its paraquat portfolio.
David Van Ryswyk, Managing Director, Syngenta ANZ, said paraquat has been an important productivity and conservation tool for growers across Australia and New Zealand, but continuing to allocate significant resources to an unprofitable legacy product range is no longer commercially sustainable. He noted that the company's strategic focus is now on accelerating the introduction of innovative and more sustainable crop protection technologies for growers across the region.
Syngenta confirmed it will work closely with distribution partners, growers and industry organisations to ensure an orderly market transition. The company will manage the phased withdrawal of its paraquat-containing products in accordance with the APVMA's prescribed sell-out and use-by timelines, ensuring compliance throughout the transition process.
Despite exiting the paraquat segment, Syngenta reaffirmed its long-term commitment to Australian agriculture and said it will continue investing in alternative crop protection solutions designed to help growers manage herbicide-resistant weeds, improve productivity and support sustainable farming systems.
The withdrawal reflects broader structural changes within the crop protection industry, where rising regulatory compliance costs, manufacturing consolidation, supply chain complexity and increasing investment in next-generation technologies are reshaping commercial portfolios across mature agrochemical markets.
