Producer
Syngenta Group (ChemChina)
Syngenta Group (Basel, Switzerland; wholly owned by ChemChina / Sinochem Holdings since 2017 at $43B — the largest Chinese acquisition of a foreign company at the time) invented thiamethoxam (Actara foliar/soil insecticide; Cruiser seed treatment) and is the primary global producer. Actara and Engeo Pleno (lambda-cyhalothrin + thiamethoxam) are the leading foliar neonicotinoid products for whitefly, leafhopper, and aphid control on vegetables, citrus, and cotton globally. Syngenta also produces acetamiprid (Assail) for foliar use. Manufacturing at Huddersfield UK (primary thiamethoxam) and Schweizerhalle/Basel Switzerland. ChemChina's 2021 merger with Sinochem created a combined entity (~$150B revenue) that includes ADAMA generic agrochemicals — giving a single Chinese state-linked conglomerate both the branded thiamethoxam franchise and significant generic neonicotinoid capacity.
9
Inputs supplied
4
Goods downstream
8
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
9 inputs Syngenta Group (ChemChina) supplies
Click an input to see every good that depends on it, every country that produces it, and every other company in the supply chain.
chemical
Seed Treatment Fungicide Active Ingredients →
chemical
Seed Treatment Fungicide Active Ingredients →
chemical
Atrazine Technical Herbicide →
chemical
Pesticides and fungicides (fresh produce) →
chemical
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment Active Ingredients →
chemical
Fungicides (Coffee Leaf Rust Control) →
chemical
Neonicotinoid Active Ingredients (Imidacloprid / Thiamethoxam) →
agricultural
Commercial vegetable seed (hybrid varieties) →
agricultural
Corn Hybrid Parental Inbred Lines →
Where it shows up
Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Syngenta Group (ChemChina) makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
8 facilities
Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Fungicide Plant →
CNJiangsu Province · manufacturing
Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co., Ltd. (part of SinoFert/ChemChina system) — major Chinese producer of triazole fungicide AIs including tebuconazole, propiconazole, and hexaconazole. Also produces cyhalothrin pyrethroid insecticides. One of China's largest agrochemical exporters by volume. Yangnong is within the ChemChina/Sinochem orbit (same parent as Syngenta), creating integration between Chinese generic production and Syngenta's Western brand portfolio. Annual fungicide AI output: multiple thousand tonnes. Source: https://www.yangnong.com.cn
Shandong Kesai Agrochem Tebuconazole Plant →
CNShandong Province · manufacturing
Shandong Kesai Agrochem Co., Ltd. — one of the largest Chinese generic fungicide AI producers; primary products: tebuconazole, propiconazole, difenoconazole (all triazoles). Manufactures for Chinese domestic market and for export via international generic agrochemical distributors including Nufarm and UPL. Not a Syngenta subsidiary — independently owned; listed here as representative of Chinese generic manufacturing that competes with and supplies Western companies. Location approximate (Shandong Province). Source: https://www.agrocrm.cn (China Pesticide Information Network)
Syngenta Crop Protection / Seeds R&D (Research Triangle Park NC) →
USNorth Carolina · lab
Syngenta's North American R&D hub at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina — primary center for NK corn seed trait development and regulatory science. The RTP facility manages Syngenta's North American corn inbred germplasm and coordinates with corn production in Iowa and Illinois. Research Triangle Park is also home to Syngenta's biotech regulatory submissions team, which handles EPA/USDA/FDA approval of new corn traits. Syngenta employs ~1,200 scientists at North American R&D facilities across RTP NC, Slater IA, and Stanton MN. Source: Syngenta Annual Report 2024; https://www.syngenta.com/en/innovation-agriculture
Syngenta Ghent Active Ingredient Plant →
BEGhent · manufacturing
Syngenta crop protection AI manufacturing at Ghent, Belgium; secondary European production hub for fungicide AIs including azoxystrobin and SDHIs. Part of Syngenta's European production network acquired from Zeneca/ICI. Supports European crop protection market supply; also produces for global export. Source: https://www.syngenta.com/en/company/who-we-are/our-sites
Syngenta Huddersfield Manufacturing Site (West Yorkshire) →
GBWest Yorkshire · manufacturing
Syngenta's Huddersfield, West Yorkshire site is the primary European manufacturing location for thiamethoxam (Actara foliar insecticide; Cruiser seed treatment) active ingredient. ~500 employees; site heritage traces to ICI agrochemicals. Huddersfield also produces other Syngenta actives. The Environment Agency (UK) has monitored the site for neonicotinoid discharges into the River Calder — a recurring water quality concern given thiamethoxam's high water solubility and persistence in aquatic environments. Post-2018 EU ban, UK production continues for global export (US, Latin America, Asia) and domestic structural/turf uses permitted under UK post-Brexit regulations. Source: Syngenta Annual Report 2023; UK Environment Agency discharge consent database.
Syngenta Seeds R&D Innovation Center — Research Triangle Park, North Carolina →
USNorth Carolina, USA · research-breeding
336,000 sq ft life science campus; Syngenta's largest North American R&D hub and global seeds center of excellence. Includes 136,000 sq ft Advanced Crop Lab. $140M expansion completed; $68M further upgrade planned.
Syngenta Stein Active Ingredient Manufacturing →
CHAargau · manufacturing
Syngenta Stein site (Stein am Rhein, Aargau, Switzerland; ~600 employees); active ingredient and formulation manufacturing for multiple crop protection products including mefenoxam (Ridomil) and cyprodinil (Switch component). Historic site from Ciba-Geigy merger that created Novartis and subsequently Syngenta (2000 Novartis Agribusiness + Zeneca Agrochemicals merger). Switzerland's strict chemical regulations require Syngenta to manufacture at standards exceeding many other global sites. Source: https://www.syngenta.com/en/about-syngenta/our-operations/stein
Syngenta Vegetable Seeds R&D — Almeria, Spain →
ESAlmeria, Andalusia · research
Syngenta NK Seeds vegetable breeding station, Almeria, Spain — one of Syngenta's two major European vegetable seed R&D centers. Almeria is strategically located adjacent to Europe's largest protected horticulture district (the 'Sea of Plastic' — approximately 35,000 hectares of plastic greenhouses producing tomato, pepper, cucumber, and watermelon for export across Europe). Syngenta's Almeria station breeds varieties specifically adapted to Mediterranean greenhouse conditions, including disease resistance packages for Botrytis, powdery mildew, and viral pathogens prevalent in high-humidity greenhouse production. The proximity to commercial production allows rapid trial and farmer feedback loops. Almeria's water scarcity (the driest area in Europe) also makes it a breeding location for drought-tolerant vegetable varieties. Source: https://www.syngenta.com/en/vegetables
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Insecticides (Thiamethoxam, Neonicotinoids)
30%Fungicides
30%Herbicides
25%Seeds (NK Brand)
15%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Concentration2024
ChemChina's 2017 acquisition of Syngenta for $43 billion — the largest acquisition of a foreign company by a Chinese firm in history at the time — transferred the world's #1 crop protection company to Chinese state ownership. Syngenta produces the active ingredient azoxystrobin (Amistar) at its Huddersfield, UK factory — this single molecule is the world's best-selling fungicide by revenue and is registered for use on over 100 crops in more than 100 countries. Azoxystrobin is a FRAC Group 11 QoI (quinone outside inhibitor) strobilurin fungicide, and its patent expiry has been partially offset by Syngenta's market incumbency and the breadth of its registered label uses. Under ChemChina (which subsequently merged with Sinochem into CNChemi), Syngenta's $33B revenue crop protection business sits within a Chinese state-owned enterprise structure. The CFIUS review of the ChemChina-Syngenta acquisition took 18 months and imposed mitigation conditions including restrictions on Syngenta's access to US farmer data — reflecting US government concern about Chinese state control of the world's largest pesticide company. The world's most widely used fungicide for fresh produce is manufactured in West Yorkshire, England, by a Swiss company owned by the Chinese government.
Syngenta Group AG ↗Incident2017
Syngenta's 2017 acquisition by ChemChina ($43B — the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company at the time) transferred control of the world's largest seed treatment fungicide portfolio to Chinese state-linked ownership. ChemChina is a state-owned enterprise (SOE) under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). The acquisition passed CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) review with a national security agreement requiring Syngenta to maintain US manufacturing and limit data sharing. However, Syngenta's metalaxyl-M production know-how, SDHI pipeline data, and global seed treatment registration dossiers are now held by a Chinese-state-controlled entity. In 2021, ChemChina and Sinochem merged to form Sinochem Holdings — making Syngenta a subsidiary of China's largest chemical state enterprise. This means the company controlling the world's most widely used corn and soybean seed treatment active ingredient (metalaxyl-M/mefenoxam) is ultimately owned by the Chinese government — relevant for US food security planning, since the vast majority of US corn and soybean seed is treated with Syngenta's Maxim.
Reuters ↗Did you know2021
Syngenta is simultaneously owned by ChemChina/Sinochem (Chinese state-controlled entities) and retains the world's leading proprietary fungicide IP portfolio — including patents on azoxystrobin analogs still under protection, and next-generation SDHI fungicides (sedaxane, isopyrazam, solatenol). This creates a unique geopolitical structure: the world's top fungicide IP and the largest share of Western-registered fungicide AIs sit within a Chinese state-controlled ownership structure. Syngenta retains Swiss legal HQ and Western regulatory registrations, but its ultimate beneficial owners are Chinese Communist Party-aligned entities. In a US-China trade conflict that escalated to agricultural chemistry controls, Syngenta's crop protection IP and Huddersfield manufacturing could theoretically be subject to Chinese government direction — potentially restricting Western access to the world's most-used fungicide (azoxystrobin) from both the branded originator and the dominant generic Chinese suppliers simultaneously.
Chemistry World (Royal Society of Chemistry) ↗Chokepoint2017
When ChemChina acquired Syngenta in 2017 for $43 billion — the largest foreign acquisition ever by a Chinese company — U.S. senators explicitly cited food supply chain vulnerability as national security concerns; CFIUS cleared the deal after Syngenta agreed to divest three pesticide product lines but was NOT required to divest any seed or plant-biotechnology assets.
Fortune ↗