Eden Research gets new product approvals in Morocco and Romania

Biopesticide technology company Eden Research announced on Monday that its bionematicide, ‘Cedroz’, has received authorisation for sale in Morocco, while its biofungicide, ‘Mevalone’, has been approved for sale in Romania.

The AIM-traded firm said the approval of Cedroz in Morocco covered its use on tomatoes and cucumbers, and was the first product authorisation for an Eden-developed product in the territory.

It explained that tomatoes form a core part of Morocco's agricultural output, with the region producing around 565,000 tonnes of the crop each year, with sales representing 15.5% of the country's nominal gross domestic product.

Of that, Morocco exports around 33% of the tomatoes produced, with up to 90% consumed by the European Union.

There was an “increasing focus” on integrated pest management by the Moroccan Government, Eden reported, with a rising preference for the use of biofertilisers and biopesticides in both conventional and organic farming.

As such, it saw an opportunity for bionematicides, such as Cedroz, to address growing demands for the use of fewer synthetic chemical inputs and reduced residues in food.

Cedroz would be distributed by Eden's regional commercial collaborator, Eastman Chemical Company, forming part of its soil care offering to farmers in Morocco, being an “effective and sustainable” solution to help fight nematodes, while ensuring harvested products met export criteria and customer expectations for residue-free crops.

In Romania, meanwhile, the firm said Mevalone was now approved for use on wine and table grapes.

Romania is ranked as the sixth largest wine producer in Europe, where more than 182,000 hectares of grapevines produce up to five million hectolitres of wine each year.

A “popular and widespread” variety is Fetească regală, which is susceptible to botrytis.

The key export markets for Romanian wine are Germany and the UK, where consumers were reportedly becoming increasingly aware of the sustainability credentials of the wine they purchase.

In a 2019 report by the Wine Market Council, 63% of respondents in the UK said that wine being produced sustainably was a purchasing consideration, Eden noted.

The company said the naturally-derived ingredients in Mevalone meant it was “well-aligned” with the needs of growers in Romania, and consumer expectations for sustainable, residue-free produce.

“We are delighted by these new authorisations, which represent the first approval of Eden-developed products in the Moroccan and Romania markets, led by our commercial collaborators, Eastman and KNE Certis, respectively,” said chief executive officer Sean Smith.

“With governments in these countries focused on reducing the use of conventional chemicals in agriculture, these developments represent exciting opportunities for us, as farmers seek sustainable and effective alternatives.

“Cedroz has now been authorised in ten countries and Mevalone in fourteen and we look forward to working alongside our commercial partners to expand our products' footprints in the growing biopesticides market.”

At 0859 BST, shares in Eden Research were up 10.24% at 11.58p.