Agribusiness giant Syngenta posted a 6 percent increase in sales in the third quarter driven by a strong start to the Latin American growing season.

The company had sales of $2.7 billion for the quarter and has $11 billion in sales for the first nine months of the year.

Sales in Latin America increased 18 percent. The company said high soybean prices are causing increased investment in the crop in Brazil and Argentina.

Switzerland-based Syngenta employs about 400 workers at its biotechnology research arm in Research Triangle Park.

The company is in the midst of a $71 million, 147,000-square-foot expansion at RTP that includes high-tech greenhouses. It's expected to be completed later this year.

Agribusiness giant Syngenta posted double-digit gains in revenue and net income for 2011.

The Swiss company, which employs about 400 at its biotechnology research arm in Research Triangle Park, generated $13.27 billion in sales for the year, a 12 percent increase after adjusting for currency fluctuations.

Net income rose 14 percent to $1.6 billion.

Chief Financial Officer John Ramsay told Bloomberg News that the company is on the prowl for acquisitions to expand both its crop protection and seeds franchises.

Sales of seeds and crop protection products, such as pesticides and herbicides, each rose by double digits. Sales of new products launched since 2006 rose 50 percent.

Total sales in North America rose 10 percent to $3.27 billion after adjusting for inflation.

Syngenta is in the midst of a $71 million, 147,000-square-foot expansion of its RTP campus that will include high-tech greenhouses. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Syngenta Biotechnology will invest $71 million constructing a new research complex at its Research Triangle Park campus.

The company, a division of Swiss agribusiness company Syngenta, chose RTP over sites in China, Singapore and Brazil. The expansion will add 15 employees to Syngenta’s existing RTP workforce of 400.

Officials announced the decision today during an industry symposium held at the N.C. Biotechnology Center in RTP.

Syngenta chose RTP because of North Carolina’s business climate and the support it received from local and state officials, said Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, the company’s president.

Last week, Durham County commissioners approved giving the company up to $225,000 in incentives to help win the expansion. The state provided no incentives, but Commerce Department officials were actively involved in recruiting the company.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners will consider up to $225,000 in incentives Monday night for SBI, the biotech research division of Switzerland-based Syngenta Global. 

SBI is headquartered in RTP where it employs about 400 people on a 200,000 square-foot main campus.  It is planning a $71 million expansion of its research and development operations and is considering sites in China, Singapore and Brazil, as well as Durham County, according to agenda materials for Monday's meeting.  

"If Durham County is selected, the project will mean a $71 million investment in our local economy," according to the materials. "Company officials have stated that incentives from the local government are a key consideration in its final decision on locating the expansion, particularly considering that costs in overseas markets are lower that expansion costs is Durham."
 
Durham County staff is recommending that the county approve the incentives.

SBI researchers use a combination of science and cutting-edge technology to develop innovative solutions that help meet the world's changing needs for food, feed, fuel and fiber, according to its website. SBI was founded by leading researcher, Mary-Dell Chilton, and first opened its doors in 1984.

In addition to SBI, the sister site, Syngenta Biotechnology China Co. Ltd. (SBC) was opened in Beijing in 2008. It is the first foreign-funded agricultural biotech research institution in China, according to the website. SBC specializes in early research of agronomic traits for key crops such as corn and soybean and focuses on yield improvement, water optimization, disease control and biomass conversion for biofuels.