Syngenta unveiled a drive to exploit the huge sowings forecast in Latin America, spurred by soaring crop prices, as the seed and sprays giant unveiled earnings ahead of expectations for the first half of the year.

Mike Mack, the Syngenta chief executive, said that after a "strong" performance in the northern hemisphere in the January-to-June period, "the focus is now Latin America, where the outlook is positive, given record soybean prices".

A range of analysts have made large forecasts for South American soybean crops to be planted later in 2012 and harvested in 2013.

Macquarie on Tuesday forecast a rise of 2m hectares to 27.0m hectares in Brazilian soybean sowings, and a jump of 16.0m tonnes to a record 81.0m tonnes in output, while last week Safras e Mercado pegged the crop at 82.3m tonnes, on an area of 27.2m hectares.

Agroconsult has pegged Brazil's soybean harvest at 83.1m tonnes.

Syngenta is "looking forward to a big second half down there in Latam", Mr Mack said.

'Widespread optimism'

The comments came as the group unveiled first-half earnings up 5.1% at $1.50bn, on revenues up 7.3% at $8.27bn, a performance which reflected the range of dynamics in grain and oilseed markets.

A jump of 24% to $2.78bn in sales in North America "reflected early sowings and widespread optimism for the season" early on, when farmers looked set for huge yields besides prices which, while well below current levels, were high by historic standards.

In Europe and the former Soviet Union, the group exploited "increased planting of spring crops following winterkill on more than 7m hectares of cereals", besides the structural shift in Ukraine to planting corn.

"Former Soviet Union [operations] in particular continued to perform strongly, with the ongoing intensification of agriculture and a share increase in corn herbicide usage in Ukraine," Syngenta said.

In South America, the group tapped hefty sowings of winter corn, planted as a follow-on crop to soybeans, and which is set for record output, boosted by the late start to the dry season – a delay which has set back sugar cane and coffee harvests.

Drought impact

And the group took a sanguine view of the impact of the US drought, whose threat to crops has only kicked in over the last six weeks, saying that, for growers, price increases were "taking the sting" out of yield losses.

The group also flagged the performance of its AgrisureArtesian brand of corn seed in withstanding the moisture shortage, which it said had left farmers' wells with 25% of the reserves they had a decade ago, and with costs higher of pumping the water to fields.

"The need for technology in agriculture was never greater than it is today," Mr Mack said.

Market reaction

The data was well received by investors, who had forecast Syngenta reporting a net profit of $1.41bn, on sales of $8.22bn

Syngenta shares closed 3.6% higher at SFr332.00.