Makers of crop sprays, struggling against surging competition, remain in a tight spot despite the upturn in grain prices which has boosted their fertilizer peers, the head of Makhteshim Agan Group said.

Erez Vigodman, the herbicide group's chief executive, said that the crop protection sector remained in a "challenging environment", after continued falls in product prices during the first half of the year.

"[The] industry has not fully recovered yet," he said.

The declines have been blamed on surging production from makers of off-patent agrichemicals - of which Israeli-based group is one, but which has been joined by ranks of Chinese manufacturers, notably in the market for glyphosate weedkillers.

Avraham Biggar, the chairman of Makhteshim Agan, which is more commonly know as MA Industries, added that the group had faced a "competitive pricing environment" in the April-to-June period.

Australian help 

Nonetheless, the company achieved a 7.3% rise to $600.9m in sales during the quarter, driven by takings in developing markets, and in Australia, where MA tapped into better growing conditions for farmers.

"Asia Pacific and South America played a significant role in this growth, and I expect this trend to continue in the coming year," Mr Vigodman said.

The increase was also helped by discounting, with price declines more than offset by a rise in volumes.

Earnings rose to $12.4m from $1.7m, although the year-ago figure was held back by one-off costs.

"We posted some of the better financial results in our industry," Mr Biggar said.

MA shares stood 1.4% lower at 13.90 shekels in afternoon trade in Tel Aviv.

The stock has risen some 7% from an early-July nadir, a figure eclipsed by the rise of about 30% recorded by fertilizer groups such as PotashCorp, on hopes that rising grain prices will prompt surging demand for nutrients.