Ayala unit closes shop

Inclement weather and heightened competition from multinational companies (MNCs) have forced a unit of Ayala Corp.’s agriculture subsidiary to close shop starting this month.

Ayala Corp. managing director Renato Marzan told the Philippine Stock Exchange that Ayala Seeds Corp. which is under Ayala Agricultural Development Corp. will discontinue its hybrid corn seed business "following a number of reverses which impaired the organization’s operational efficiency."

He said the business had suffered from an increasing trend towards globalization and the reduction in tariffs, where local players like them have faced stiff competition against MNCs with extensive reach and easy access to vast research facilities.

"The corn seed business is highly dependent on the introduction of newer and better hybrids, the product of extensive biotechnology. To remain competitive, local players would need to match the resources of its more dominant market players," Marzan said.

Moreover, he said the significant changes in weather patterns over the past decade have adversely affected growing conditions in the Philippines and seriously affected the market of Ayala Seeds.

But he added AADC will continue to engage in its other business lines, namely: copra, cattle-raising and coconut seed gardening which produces high-quality hybrid coconut seeds for replanting. – Conrado Diaz Jr.