Clothianidin included in EU positive list

Positive decision to include active ingredient in Annex I of European Directive on marketing authorization for plant protection products.

Friday - February 10, 2006, Monheim – The EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFA), comprising representatives of government bodies and ministries in all the countries of the European Union, has approved the inclusion of the active ingredient clothianidin in the positive list (Annex 1) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC which is valid throughout the European Union. This Directive states that active ingredients may only be used in plant protection products if they comply with the strict safety requirements stipulated in the Directive.

Clothianidin was developed jointly with Sumitomo Chemical Takeda Agro Company and is one of Bayer CropScience’s most promising active ingredients for insecticidal seed treatment. This is one of the most targeted ways of protecting crops since contact between the active ingredient and the environment can be reduced to a minimum. The active ingredient clothianidin is distributed by Bayer CropScience in corn under the brand name Poncho®.

Its ease of use and reliable action are generating growing demand among farmers for this technology. Poncho® is a state-of-the-art insecticide with fast, reliable activity against a broad spectrum of early-season pests that can attack both seed and young plants. It particularly targets wireworm and cutworm in corn and is also effective in controlling harmful insects in oilseed rape, cereals and sugar beet.

Poncho® received its first marketing authorizations as a seed dressing for corn starting in 2003 in the USA, Canada, Argentina, Hungaria, Germany and Austria.

Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6 billion, 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. This and further news is available at: www.newsroom.bayercropscience.com


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This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer CropScience AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future consolidated results, financial situation, development or performance of our parent company, Bayer AG, and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer AG’s public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including Bayer AG’s Form 20-F). Neither Bayer AG nor Bayer CropScience AG assumes any liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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Bayer CropScience AG

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