Cereal growers in the UK will be able to purchase a range of important herbicides direct from the manufacturer for this coming spring.

Chinese post-patent agrochemical company Rotam produce four sulfonylurea (SU) herbicide products that are crucial for spring weed control in winter and spring cereal crops.

The group has been present in the UK since 2010 and the company has a significant share in the tebuconazole fungicide market and is now offering cost-effective SU’s to rival market leader Dupont.

See also: Herbicide-resistant poppies mean trouble for growers

Products include Ergon, Bouda, Hiatus and Savvy Premium and the new direct purchasing channel is something that has never been available in the UK before.

Rotam UK’s commercial and marketing manager Chris Pye says Killgerm Chemicals, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of public health pesticides, will distribute their products and are active throughout the UK on a daily basis.

“The traditional distribution routes growers already use will still be available if they prefer,” he adds.

The company is the fastest growing post-patent company according to global crop protection industry consultant Phillips McDougall, with annual growth of 27% over the past five years.

It invests about 10% of its turnover into the research and development of post-patent products, which is on par with the major agrochemical manufacturers.

“We pride ourselves in delivering product efficacy, an independent market stance and extensive after sales support,” he says.

Farm business consultant John Emmerson agrees and thinks that the direct purchasing of agrochemicals is the way forward for the industry.

“Going direct is good for us and we trust Rotam, as they do their research and both product and support are excellent. The turnaround on orders have also been positive, with their next-day deliver not letting us down,” he adds.