MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF and its commercial partner Seednet have confirmed Australian growers will have access to Ascot, the first BASF-bred wheat seed, in 2021. Selected for its yield, quality, and agronomic adaptability, Ascot is the first in a series of wheat varieties to be commercialised by BASF nationally, said BASF.
This innovation is the result of almost a decade of research at BASF’s Wheat and Oilseed Breeding Centre in Longerenong, Victoria. "We see the development of new varieties as the key to increasing productivity,” said Rob Hall, Seeds & Traits Business Head Asia Pacific, BASF. “Ascot will be the first release from our wheat breeding program and is the result of our investment in research at Longerenong. We look forward to producing a range of exciting wheat varieties in the next few years."
Ascot has shown excellent yield potential during development and is produced for BASF and Seednet by Australian Grain and Forage (AGF) Seeds in the Central Highlands of Victoria. Growing exceptionally well in the region, Ascot will be suited to farmers with similar growing conditions, in the recommended growing area, covering eastern South Australia, central Victoria and southern New South Wales, for the 2021 season.
Each Australian BASF wheat variety will be named in honor of a local industry pioneer. Ascot was named after James Fry, a gold rush miner who switched to growing and milling wheat in the 1850s. At Fry’s Ascot Mill, located only a few kilometers from where the BASF seeds are cultivated, he experimented with new varieties to increase the viability of wheat crops for the region.
"We think it’s very appropriate to acknowledge early innovators in this way. We want to recognize that everyone who is working to move local agriculture forward today, is building on the work of previous generations – people who had a vision of what could be achieved through a combination of boldness, imagination and sheer persistence," added Hall.
As MRC informed earlier, BASF kicked off the piling work of the first plants of its smart Verbund project in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. This came as another important milestone in the development of the company’s USD10 billion investment project since its official commencement in November 2019. The first plants will produce engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to serve the increasing needs of various growth industries in the southern China market and throughout Asia.
We remind that BASF has restarted its No. 1 steam cracker following a maintenance turnaorund. Thus, the company resumed operations at the plant on September 30, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of EUR59 billion in 2019.
MRC