Bayer CropScience will be exhibiting for the first time at the Fruit Logistica, the international trade fair for fruit and vegetable marketing, being held in Berlin from February 2 to 4, 2006. At Booth B-17 in Hall 2.1, the company will be presenting its many activities connected with the growing and processing of fruit and vegetables.

Visitors will be able to locate the booth easily as it is decorated with two oversized fruits. These symbolize two pilot projects in Turkey and Spain. Capsicum and grapes will be used as examples to demonstrate how growing and processing can now be planned and fully documented.

The main goal of these efforts is to ensure consumer safety. Experts from Bayer CropScience, local farmers, foreign importers and German food retailers collaborate closely to produce high-quality food for the German market. The products are subject to continuous quality control by independent laboratories, with the results of these tests being available to all stakeholders in the process. This procedure not only ensures a high level of safety but also enables rapid identification and traceability should any quality deficiencies arise. The necessary measures can then be taken without delay.

The results yielded by the project so far are highly promising and underscore the need for close collaboration between all partners in the food chain. This has prompted Bayer CropScience to establish a food chain team in support of food producers and retailers. Bayer CropScience contributes innovative crop protection products coupled with the long-time experience of its experts, extensive technical know-how and an efficient global network. Support from quality assurance and certification systems also helps to produce the best possible food quality.

Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6 billion (2004), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 19,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries.