Syngenta sales rise in face of falling crop prices

ZURICH (Reuters) - Syngenta , the world's No. 1 crop chemicals maker, brushed off pressure from lower global crop prices to post a 3 percent rise in third-quarter sales, enabling it to maintain its sales target for 2014.

Falls in crop prices can weigh on sales of seeds and chemicals, as farmers become less willing to plant. However Syngenta, which makes products to kill weeds and insects as well as genetically-modified seeds, managed to withstand this in the third quarter, Chief Financial Officer John Ramsay told Reuters.

"This is mainly due to the relative robustness of the sector in which we operate," he said. "Importantly, farmers do need these products for the purpose of maximising yield."

Ramsay said a drive to cut costs to $1 billion (£626.57 million) a year by 2018 was progressing well, with the first implementation of cuts expected to take place in 2015.

Sales at Syngenta increased at constant currency rates in the third quarter to $2.8 billion, but were slightly below the average analyst forecast of $2.96 billion in a Reuters poll.

The company is targeting annual sales growth of 6 percent in constant currencies for 2014.

(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian; Editing by Pravin Char)