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Growing a healthy, productive, profitable potato crop takes a lot of work. But more than that, there are a lot of inputs involved that your average consumer doesn't think about. Even growers, who very literally know more about the process than anyone, might not know all the answers about the origins of all those inputs. But understanding what that supply chain looks like is important for U.S. growers, says Bob Trogele, chief operating officer and executive vice president of AMVAC Chemical Corporation. The global ag chem market's 2 to 3 percent steady annual growth rate may not sound like a huge number, combined with evolving regulations and overall economies, that growth rate can lead to a lot of change at the farm gate. Globally, about 60 percent of the active ingredients for agrochemicals come from India and China. According to Trogele, about 12 percent of AMVAC's business is exposed to the Chinese market; that number may be as high as 70 percent for some chemical manufacturers. Around 90 percent of all chlorothalonil produced in the world comes from China. Together, China and India produce about half of the world's metribuzin. Seeing those numbers, it's easy to see why it's important for U.S. growers to have a basic understanding of the goings-on in those foreign agrochemical markets. "As an agrochemical company, you've got to bring ease of use and economic benefit to today's growers," says Trogele. "These are large producers and production units and they're interested in increasing efficiency— time, money, environment. They're businesspeople. Our objective is to make them more money and more competitive on a global scale." Big Picture THE One company's thoughts on the global agrochemical market By Tyrell Marchant 18 POTATO GROWER | MAY 2019