Chapter 430 Changes in Situation
"Asian carp infestation drives federal government crazy."

"Asian carp, the dominant species that has successfully invaded American rivers."

"The bullying behavior of caltrops - competing with crops for nutrients and killing them!"

"Super invasive organisms - Americans have been fighting tiny ants for nearly 80 years!"

"Dodder, which is common in the countryside, has become a nightmare for American soybean and alfalfa farmers!"

"Small and medium-sized farms are going bankrupt, and the world's former richest man Bill Gates is buying land like crazy!"

While Guo Yang was directing Jiahe to attack everywhere, the troubles faced by farmers on the other side of the ocean were getting worse and worse.

There is a constant stream of news about biological invasions, reduced agricultural production, export obstructions, and agricultural bankruptcies on major television stations and the Internet in the United States.

Tribulus terrestris and Cuscuta australis are spreading in farmland at an alarming rate like maggots in the tarsal bones.

Once crops such as corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans, alfalfa, etc. are contaminated, they will face a significant reduction in production.

The red fire ants, which have no natural enemies, are so terrifying that they are beyond people's imagination.

Production decreased, costs increased, exports decreased... Over the past three years, farms in the federal government went bankrupt almost every day, the number of farms filing for bankruptcy hit a new high, and unemployed farm workers frequently took to the streets to protest.

In the face of desperate and helpless struggles time and time again, small and medium-sized farmers completely exploded and held unprecedented demonstrations in various places.

"Protect our farm!"

"Eliminate weeds and fire ants!"

“We need more subsidies and sales markets!”

"Boycott Monsanto, boycott GMOs!"

“Protect the ecological environment!”

Among the marching crowd, Sander shouted at the top of his lungs.

He is a resident of Illinois. After graduating from college 10 years ago, he returned to his hometown to inherit and run a 1-acre farm.

It was when China joined the WTO that the agricultural product market was partially liberalized.

In those years, agricultural product prices rose rapidly and the agricultural prospects were generally optimistic.

However, starting two or three years ago, the nightmare began to unfold.

Agricultural product prices have climbed to historic highs, but farms have been harmed by caltrops, which compete with crops for fertilizer and water, entangle and encircle crops, and kill them. Crop yields have declined rapidly, each year lower.

This is not the end. The red fire ants in the south have invaded all the way north to Illinois.

The mutated red fire ants are much more terrifying than weeds, and they not only directly damage the soil and crops.

Humans and animals cannot bear the bites, and the death toll caused by red fire ants remains high.

The invasion of mutated red fire ants caused food production to decline again, while the sluggish export market, especially exports to China, dealt the final blow.

Sander's farm went bankrupt.

This is the first time the Sander family, who have been farming in Illinois for more than four generations, has declared bankruptcy.

The Sanders are not alone.

Farms neighboring his are basically filing for bankruptcy.

The protest march was so massive that it quickly spread across the world, shocking countries around the world. This disaster of biological invasion was also fully exposed to the world.

It is even more exciting on the Internet.

"Hahaha... Isn't Da Piaoliang known as the world's policeman? How come he can't even stop a tiny ant!"

"It's not just ants. There are also Asian carps. I heard that they were introduced by the United States. Now the native species in the Mississippi River are almost being eaten up."

"You've done something wrong! Jewish capital has used food as a weapon to stir up trouble around the world, and now it's finally paying the price!"

"Humph! You don't know how powerful red fire ants are. Once they spread to the whole world, no one will be immune!"

"Given the transmission characteristics of Tribulus terrestris and Cuscuta australis, they may have spread to other countries."

"This is a world-class disaster!"

As protests and marches in the United States continue to grow, discussions about biological invasions, ecological protection, and sustainable development are becoming more and more extensive.

Countries around the world, as well as various environmental protection funds, nature funds, organizations and associations have joined the discussion.

Coincidentally, all countries have strengthened customs inspections to prevent biological invasions.

However, traces of red fire ants have long been found in South Korea and China in East Asia, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania and other countries.

This has also caused a lot of concerns.

There have been many reports about biological invasions from America in the Chinese media and on the Internet, but what people are most worried about is the invasion of red fire ants in China.

"Red fire ants have invaded 12 provinces in my country and are extremely aggressive!"

"It's difficult, it's difficult. It looks like China will be the same as Da Piaoliang. Once the red fire ants mutate, it will be completely out of control."

"How can it be so serious? Little do people know that domestic grain production has hit new highs year after year, and the unit price of grain has been falling again and again. The farmers are the ones who suffer!"

"There have been very few reports of red fire ants causing damage in China in the past two years, so they should be under control."

Faced with netizens' concerns about the invasion of red fire ants, the domestic agricultural sector has remained extremely calm.

Occasionally, experts and professors are interviewed and they also say that there are many effective measures in the country to deal with red fire ants, such as biological control and chemical control.

In Guangdong and Hunan provinces, where large-scale red fire ant outbreaks have occurred, officials have also said the situation has been brought under control with no signs of recurrence.

As a result, there is a sharp contrast between the domestic and foreign situations.

The beautiful farmer was in dire straits, while the country was calm.

This is something that many public intellectuals who worship foreign things cannot tolerate.

"What a beautiful dream! Da Piaoliang is the world's most powerful country, with many biotech companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow, all of which are giants in the agrochemical industry. Yet, Da Piaoliang has been fighting against red fire ants for 80 years."

"Alas, some Chinese people like to be blindly arrogant. The domestic bureaucracy is so strong that once they find red fire ants somewhere, they will invest a lot of manpower and material resources, but it is only temporarily controlled and the fundamental problem is still not solved."

"Domestic experts and professors love to cheat, and local officials also deceive their superiors and subordinates for the sake of political achievements, not knowing that this will only cause more and more hidden dangers."

"Wait, then."

However, no matter how the public intellectuals clamor, it is an indisputable fact that red fire ants have disappeared from the country and grain production has continued to rise.

On the contrary, the wave of demonstrations in the United States is becoming more and more intense.

The post-financial crisis era, coupled with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has become an important node in the decline of America's strength.

This former global leader is now in big trouble both inside and outside, and it clearly feels like it is powerless.

Today, the agriculture that the country is so proud of is also in big trouble, and the whole world is watching how Da Piaoliang will deal with this crisis.

Under heavy pressure, President Obama of the United States delivered a public speech.

"The federal government will spare no effort to deal with multiple biological invasions. In the next few years, it will invest $200 billion to control the three major organisms that seriously invade farmland and parks across the United States: red fire ants, tribulus terrestris, and dodder.

At the same time, DuPont, Dow, Monsanto and dozens of well-known universities will jointly develop biochemical agents for red fire ants..."

After that, the five major TV stations in the United States almost simultaneously reposted a shocking news.

"The two largest chemical giants in the United States: DuPont and Dow Chemical will merge and reorganize!"

This is undoubtedly a major earthquake in the agrochemical industry.

American media have claimed that the merger and reorganization of DuPont and Dow will enable the two parties to form a synergy in research and development to jointly combat malicious organisms such as red fire ants and caltrops.

Under the guidance of the media, public opinion on the Internet has changed accordingly.

"Dow and DuPont are both century-old agrochemical companies. If they work together, they will definitely be able to kill invasive organisms."

“This is the change we need!”

The news of the merger between DuPont and Dow quickly spread around the world, causing a stir in the agrochemical industry.

It is not difficult for their competitors to guess the real reason for the merger: the business operations are difficult, and the two companies hope to break out of the fierce competition dilemma through the merger.

As for biological invasions, no one is no longer working on them.

"What did Professor Leo say?" Monsanto President Brett Biggman asked his assistant.

"The professor said it would take another year."

Brett Biggman rubbed his forehead with a headache and said, “I can’t wait!

Over the past two years, the market share of corn seeds and Roundup herbicides has been declining rapidly.

Now, DuPont and Dow are joining forces again. To sit back and wait for death is to die slowly.”

In the past, farmers' favorite way to deal with weeds was to use herbicides, especially the combination of Monsanto's genetically modified soybean seeds and Roundup.

But Tribulus terrestris is immune to almost all herbicides on the market.

Genetically modified soybean seeds have become a disadvantage.

Coupled with the resistance from public opinion, Monsanto is having a hard time.

"Boss, what should we do?"

"Monsanto also needs help!" Brett Biggman murmured, "If there is a chemical that can deal with caltrops, it must come from Monsanto."

soon.

Another sensational news broke: Monsanto plans to acquire Swiss Syngenta for $400 billion!

Monsanto is the world's largest supplier of genetically modified crop seeds, with a peak market value of over $700 billion.

In 1980, it invested US$10 billion to establish the world's largest biotechnology research and development center.

The world's first genetically modified morning glory was developed in 1986.

In 1994, the genetically modified soybeans bundled with glyphosate were approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and have been at the forefront of the research and development of genetically modified crops since then.

In terms of seed business, Monsanto's seed sales are higher than the combined sales of DuPont and Syngenta, which rank second and third, and more than six times that of Bayer, which ranks fourth.

However, Monsanto’s glory days are numbered.

The commercialization of GMOs has been resisted by consumers all over the world.

Many people attribute the mutation of invasive crops such as hawthorn, red fire ants, and dodder in America to the use of genetically modified crops and pesticides.

Monsanto has long surpassed its company name itself and has become the target of the global anti-GMO movement!
In the past two or three years, Monsanto has been keeping a low profile.

Occasionally, news about Monsanto is about the latest progress in its research on Tribulus terrestris and red imported fire ants, but it has not yet produced a perfect product.

Suddenly, Monsanto announced its plan to acquire Syngenta!

What is even more surprising is that after Monsanto announced its plan, there was not much criticism from the United States.

The farmers once again shouted, "This is the change we want!"

If there really is a chemical that can control Tribulus terrestris, many people believe that the first product will come from Monsanto.

Monsanto is one of the most innovative biotech companies in the world. Its acquisition target, Syngenta, has a market value of more than $300 billion and is also one of the world's four largest producers of genetically modified crops, with strong capabilities in biotechnology.

Once Monsanto absorbs all the technology Syngenta possesses, it may just make up its last gasp.

American farmers are shouting, while other countries and competing companies are horrified. A shocking change in the agricultural chemical industry is evolving.

When the news reached China, it also caused an uproar.

Since the domestic seed and agricultural chemical markets were opened up, foreign capital has frequently appeared in the country.

Monsanto's Roundup, Bayer's Fipronil, DuPont's Concord, Syngenta's Celexa and Fogo, Dow AgroSciences' Gram-Fluor... have long been familiar names to hundreds of millions of farmers and pesticide industry personnel in China.

And now, these giants are coming together.

There is a constant stream of pessimism.

"Each of the six giants is as big as Sinochem, not to mention those ordinary private enterprises."

"Surrender early, it will be more decent."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

“Only companies like this can truly solve the problem of red fire ant invasion. Domestic experts and professors should learn and watch carefully!”

Sarcasm and cynicism are prevalent, and even if most people want to fight back, they don’t know how to start.

Most ordinary people don’t know much about the agrochemical industry.

Agricultural supply personnel and pesticide companies also seemed to be silent, with few people responding.

So the voices of sarcasm became louder and louder.

It was not until Professor Zhang Bin of the Shanghai Pesticide Research Institute spoke out the status of Chinese pesticide companies on NIO’s Weibo that the company finally realized the true status of the industry.

“No matter how well Chinese pesticide companies do, they are currently just working for foreign companies.”

As soon as this Weibo post was released, it immediately attracted a lot of comments and attention on NIO’s Weibo.

"Professor Zhang, what does this Weibo post you posted mean?"

"A foundry?"

"Fuck, is it that tragic?"

"Beast, tell me in detail."

"You can kill them but not bury them, right?"

The comments section quickly piled up, and the popularity of this Weibo post continued to rise as DuPont and Dow, and Monsanto and Syngenta announced mergers.

Within an hour or two, it quickly became a hot topic and attracted more and more people to pay attention to Weibo.

Some people are excited.

"Hahaha, that's what I said. In China's current environment, it's impossible to have product innovation. We can only eat what others have left."

"The domestic control of red fire ants is definitely fake, or else the local departments are wasteful and using human-wave tactics..."

Some people were angry and sprayed it,
"Does it feel good to kneel down, grandson?"

"People like this are definitely traitors in wartime!"

"Haha, the professor's meaning is very clear. Domestic pesticide companies are just OEM factories, and the six major foreign companies have the core technology!"

The two groups started to curse each other in the comment section, and many people asked the professor to provide more interpretation, but there was no response.

It was not until midnight that day that Professor Zhang Bin wrote the first reply to the Weibo post.

“We are long-term contract workers for foreign companies.”

At this point, some people were completely unable to sleep, and kept spreading opinions on the Internet such as "it will be over sooner or later" and "surrender early".

The sounds of fear were even louder.

When the media interviewed well-known domestic agrochemical companies, all they got were comments like "not optimistic", "low profits", "survival is hard, how can we talk about product innovation" and so on.

Many people have realized that things are heading in a bad direction, and all media outlets are adding fuel to the fire.

People have been calling on the relevant departments to clarify the rumors.

After much anticipation, the China Pesticide Industry Association released a list of the top 100 pesticide sales companies in China on Weilai’s Weibo.

Zhejiang Xin'an Chemical, which ranked first, had annual sales of 18.73 billion yuan, and the 1.7th-ranked company had sales of million yuan.

The top 496.97 companies had a combined sales of 1589.6 billion yuan, and the total industry sales were billion yuan.

"Shit, there's only one picture, and everything else is up to guess?"

"It's so funny. Syngenta's pesticide sales last year were $88.41 billion, while the top 77.6 companies in China only had a combined sales of about $ billion. How can they compete?"

“The combined market share of the top 100 companies is only 31.26%. Small domestic pesticide companies are very active. No wonder the pollution is so serious!”

“No wonder no one has spoken out. They must be scared to death when facing the six major pesticide companies!”

Once the top 100 list was released, all sectors of the domestic community had a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of domestic agrochemical companies.

The companies on the list have also been targeted by media reporters, and there is an endless stream of people visiting them for interviews.

As people gain a deeper understanding, they will be able to comprehend the implications of the two remarks made by Professor Zhang Bin on NIO’s Weibo.

"The annual domestic pesticide production is 230 million tons, and 120 million tons are exported. After export, large foreign companies carry out secondary deep processing to make high-end products that we cannot make, earning excess profits around the world."

"Syngenta alone has more than 50 suppliers in China."

"The reason why Zhejiang Xin'an Chemical Industry is the best in China is that it has close relationships with major companies such as Bayer, Monsanto, BASF, Syngenta, and Australia New Farm, and its reputation as a long-term contract worker is well-deserved."

"The average profit margin in the industry is only 6%. Domestic companies provide the highest quality products but earn only a meager manufacturing fee."

"There are only more than 20 varieties with independent intellectual property rights, and we have been producing generic drugs or non-patented products for a long time..."

In Jiahe's headquarters office, Qin Lijun, who came to visit because of two super-large mergers and acquisitions in the agrochemical industry, was stunned for a long time after hearing the industry information, and then murmured: "Why not do research and development?"

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Quanwang's R&D investment has always been the highest in the country. In the first few years, the proportion of R&D investment to sales even exceeded 100%."

Qin Lijun was in a trance, "Other companies only have 1%?"

“Only 1% of large companies are doing well.” Guo Yang pondered and said, “A business owner said it very accurately: survival is already difficult, so how can we talk about product innovation?
In fact, the competitiveness of domestic foundry is also declining, and India has surpassed China in some aspects. "

Qin Lijun said: "It seems that the situation of the domestic agrochemical industry is not very good!"

Guo Yang smiled and said, "How could it be worse than it is now? DuPont and Dow merged, and Monsanto plans to acquire Syngenta. In fact, they are more out of helplessness."

Qin Lijun said: "Oh, Mr. Guo is not optimistic about these two mergers and acquisitions?"

Guo Yang smiled and nodded. In fact, he was in a good mood.

Cheng Di, who stayed in India, has reached a research and development cooperation with the College of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Mumbai through Kumar's introduction.

The two mergers and acquisitions in the agrochemical industry were not unexpected to him, and he had already prepared himself mentally.

"Dealing with biological invasions is just a pretext for mergers and acquisitions. The more important core logic is that there are problems with corporate operations."

Guo Yang analyzed: "Strategy, transformation, and scale are the core of the Dow-DuPont merger. The purpose is to focus on efficiency and cost. It is a traditional merger and acquisition, still belonging to the category of "grouping together for warmth" and lacks innovative thinking.

It is nothing but a pipe dream to expect DowDuPont to solve the agricultural difficulties facing the United States.

The company that has the best chance of solving the problem in the United States is Monsanto.”

Qin Lijun never thought he would get such an answer. "The merger of Monsanto and Syngenta, the joining of two major GMO groups, is indeed more difficult to deal with!"

Guo Yang laughed and said, "Syngenta may not agree to Monsanto's acquisition."

"Huh?" Qin Lijun was surprised.

"Monsanto has such a bad reputation in Europe and their businesses are highly overlapping, Syngenta probably won't agree, and the Swiss will definitely stop it."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "I think the probability of Sinochem's acquisition of Syngenta being successful is higher than that of Monsanto."

"Sinochem!" Qin Lijun was really surprised this time, "Sinochem will acquire Syngenta?!"

Guo Yang smiled and said, “The industry information I just mentioned is almost known to everyone in the industry.

With the merger and reorganization of DuPont and Dow, Monsanto is ambitious, and Bayer and BASF have also been making frequent moves recently. Even if Syngenta does not want to sell to Monsanto, it must be very nervous and may want to find a helper. It depends on whether Sinochem is willing to make a move. "

"It's very likely." Qin Lijun pondered for a while and said, "With the scattered situation in China, if foreign capital is allowed to unite, the agricultural chemical industry will have no chance of recovery in the future."

Qin Lijun paused, then realized that there was something wrong with his words, and added: "Quanwang is still very good. It is in the top ten and is the only domestic company that only produces innovative drugs."

Guo Yang waved his hand to indicate that he didn't care.

Last year, Quanwang's revenue reached a record high of 28 billion yuan. Among the three major sectors of plant extracts, feed additives and biological pesticides, the revenue from biological pesticides reached 12.86 billion yuan, ranking ninth in the country.

However, the national sales of biopesticides that year was only 65 billion yuan, and Quanwang accounted for as much as 19.78%.

Moreover, this market share is almost entirely high-end market snatched from the six major international pesticide giants.

Therefore, although Quanwang’s size is small, its profit is not low, and Guo Yang is very satisfied with it.

However, there is no need to show off these to Qin Lijun.

"We are still a long way from becoming the Omni King."

Qin Lijun said: "Has Jiahe never thought about acquiring Syngenta?"

"I'm afraid it will cause indigestion." Guo Yang laughed and said, "It's enough for the King of All to eat the scraps that the giants have stripped off."

At this moment, Guo Yang's cell phone on the table vibrated.

"What a coincidence! It's Mr. Liu from Sinochem who called."

Qin Lijun smiled and said, "Most likely he guessed that you were talking about him, so answer it quickly."

Guo Yang answered the phone.

"Mr. Liu, how are you?"

"Boss Guo, are you selling the Omni King?"

As soon as Liu Deshu spoke, Guo Yang exclaimed in his heart, Wow, the boomerang finally fell on me.

"Not for sale."

"So is Jiahe interested in acquiring Syngenta?"

Guo Yang glanced at Qin Lijun, thought about it again and again, and said, "Forget it. It is difficult for Jiahe and Syngenta to produce a 1+1>2 effect."

The office was audibly silent.

Guo Yang could even hear Liu Deshu's panting from the other end of the phone.

Undoubtedly, the public's concerns are correct, and it is clear that the top leaders have also realized that one way to deal with this dilemma is to participate in international mergers and acquisitions.

“If Sinochem acquires Syngenta, does Mr. Guo think it is feasible?”

"The prospects for integration and synergy are difficult to predict, and Syngenta may face hidden and unpredictable deep crises." Guo Yang pondered, "I personally think that it is better to invest funds in R&D and innovation rather than taking on huge debts."

(End of this chapter)