RNS Number:5479Q
Syngenta AG 
06 October 2003


Media Release - Communique aux Medias - Medienmitteilung


Syngenta receives five product re-registrations in Europe

Basel, Switzerland, October 6, 2003

Syngenta announced today that it has recently received EU approval for five of
its active ingredients: mesotrione, picoxystrobin, paraquat, propiconazole and
molinate. These active ingredients - marketed respectively under the brand names
CALLISTO(R), ACANTO(R), GRAMOXONE(R), TILT(R) and ORDRAM(R) - have been
approved for listing on Annex I of the European Commission's Plant Protection
Products Directive 91/414. The company now has 17 active ingredients approved on
Annex I.

The European pesticides registration process requires a modern database with
comprehensive risk assessments evaluated by experts drawn from the EU member
states. Successful registration leads to listing on Annex I.

"We are pleased that these products have received EU approval," said Dr. Lewis
Smith, Syngenta Head of Global Development. "The purpose of the EU Directive is
to ensure that all pesticides on the market meet uniform standards. Syngenta
remains fully committed to this goal by ensuring that its products are safe,
effective and meet the needs of customers."

CALLISTO(R) is Syngenta's recently introduced blockbuster herbicide for corn.
CALLISTO(R) achieved its first provisional European registration in 2000 and
was used on more than 2 million hectares in 2003 in eight European countries:
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
CALLISTO(R) has quickly become the leading post-emergence broadleaf herbicide
in corn in Europe as well as the USA, where it was registered as a reduced-risk
product in 2001. Inspired by the natural herbicides exuded by the Callistemon
citrinus plant, CALLISTO(R) provides a unique mode of action for broadleaf weed
control, including those resistant to glyphosate and certain other herbicides.

ACANTO(R) is an innovative fungicide in the strobilurin class that sets new
standards in barley and controls all important leaf diseases in wheat. It has
been specifically developed for use early in the season as its unique properties
mean that it protects the crop as it grows. First registered in Germany in 2001,
ACANTO(R) had its first full-season launches in Europe in 2002, and is now sold
in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, the UK and Switzerland.

GRAMOXONE(R) is a non-selective herbicide and has been used safely and
effectively by farmers in some 120 countries worldwide for more than 40 years.
The herbicide plays a key role in the development of minimum tillage practices
and is used increasingly to reduce soil erosion and maintain water quality. Its
unique characteristics make it an invaluable tool in sustainable agricultural
systems. In developing countries, its use has released huge amounts of labor
from arduous and time consuming hand-weeding, allowing families, particularly
women and children, to take advantage of opportunities outside manual
agricultural work.




TILT(R) is a well-established fungicide and ORDRAM(R) is a rice herbicide.

The registration process in Europe will result in a reduction in the total
number of active ingredients from 834 to about 400. Syngenta plans to maintain
the registration of some 45 active ingredients in Europe.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture
through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop
protection and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in
2002 were approximately US$6.2 billion. Syngenta employs some 20,000 people in
over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN), London
(SYA), New York (SYT) and Stockholm (SYN). Further information is available at
www.syngenta.com.


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