Shares of Calix Limited (ASX: CXL)gained nearly 4% in the early trade on the ASX on 8 March 2022. The Australian environmental technology company has received approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for its crop protection product. The product, namely BOOSTER-Mag is safe and environment friendly.
In Australia, all agricultural and veterinary chemical products sold are needed to be registered by the APVMA. Calix applied to the APVMA seeking registration for BOOSTER-Mag 609 SC as a non-lethal insecticide in January 2020.
BOOSTER-Mag represents the world's first registration of a magnesium hydroxide insecticide. The registration of BOOSTER-Mag is a significant milestone for Calix and its biotech business. It is a product of six years of meticulous scientific product and application development.
Initially, BOOSTER-Mag has gained validation for its application to suppress a highly destructive crop pest. The suppression efficacy is also visible on additional crop pests and various crop diseases. The primary registration provides a solid basis to boost the addressable market.
Significant addressable market opportunity
The approval allows the application of Booster-Mag for the control of two-spotted mites in tomato and cucurbit crops. Both these crops are vulnerable to insect pests, and disease and, as such, conventional pesticides are critical. These crops present an addressable market opportunity estimated at 16,000 ha in Australia.
Further, BOOSTER-Mag is under more extensive field trials overseas. The trials evaluate its efficacy in other types of crops and applications (e.g. anti-fungi).
BOOSTER-Mag value proposition
The product is designed to trim down farmer input costs and produce food more safely and sustainably.
- BOOSTER-Mag is a suspension concentrate (SC) of bioactive magnesium hydroxide, developed as a foliar treatment for several crop pests and diseases
- The product reduces farmer reliance on conventional pesticides without compromising crop yield or quality
What’s next?
Calix remains committed to:
- Building commercial relationships with specialist global crop protection companies
- Expanding BOOSTER-Mag label for use in significant crops in Australia and other markets
- Expanding the addressable market, which is estimated at nearly 500,000 ha
Stock information:CXL has a market capitalisation of AU$1.00 billion. The shares were trading at AU$6.480 with a gain of 3.680% midday on 08 March 2022.
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