ZURICH, (Reuters) – Syngenta Group’s first-quarter sales increased by 26% due to farmers buying seeds and sprays in advance so that there are no shortages later on in the year. The Swiss agrochemicals firm said Thursday.

These results are considered a benchmark for the wider industry of agrochemicals, where peers include U.S.-based companies. Corteva In the coming two weeks, reports will be made by (NYSE:), and Germany’s BASF (OTC:).

BASF, last month, warned it that production would be stopped if supply drops below half of its requirements. Gas shortages can have two effects on chemical production. They provide energy for manufacturing as well as critical raw materials. [nL2N2VX2YT

Syngenta, which aims to raise about $10 billion from an initial public offering (IPO), said all parts of its business had benefited from farmers buying early to avoid shortages caused by supply chain bottlenecks.

The company said sales during the first three months of 2022 rose by 26% year on year to $8.9 billion, with core profit up 25% at $1.9 billion.

Increased productivity and price increases had also helped to counter higher logistics and buying costs, it added.

The company also continued to expand in China, with 149 more of its Modern Agricultural Platform (MAP) training and sales centres than a year earlier.

It now has 514 centres in total in China, where it increased overall sales by 25% to $2.4 billion.

Each MAP centre, which sell seeds, nutrition and crop protection products as well as providing training, increased sales by an average of 57% from the same period last year, Syngenta said.