DuPont Sees Large Growth Opportunities for Seed Business in Eastern Europe

LONDON, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Speaking at the Credit Suisse 2008 Global Agrochemicals Conference, DuPont NYSE: DD Vice President and General Manager and Pioneer Hi-Bred President Paul Schickler said DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred is well positioned to serve the vast agricultural opportunity in Eastern Europe.

"We expect rapid expansion in the high growth Eastern Europe agriculture markets," Schickler said. "Eastern Europe accounts for close to 60 percent of the corn acres in Europe and our seed corn products are performing very well against competitive products. Our new sunflower and canola (oilseed rape) products also are well adapted for the area and sales are growing rapidly."

Pioneer has grown its seed corn market share for all of Europe by more than four points over the last five years, Schickler said. The Pioneer volume of seed corn has grown by 39 percent during that time while total hectares planted to corn have remained relatively stable.

Schickler said Pioneer, which had $3.3 billion in revenue in 2007 and is a key growth engine for DuPont, is extending its leadership in all international seed markets with particularly strong gains in Brazil and Argentina, where biotech crops are being widely adopted.

In North America, he said, the business is on track to hold corn market share and grow soybean seed market share in 2008.

"We are seeing strong demand for our high-yielding products in North America," Schickler said. "Our strong line-up of new products bode well for this year's growing season and the years that follow."

Schickler's presentation is available in the DuPont Investor Center at http://www2.dupont.com/Investor_Center/en_US/ .

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is the world's leading source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics in nearly 70 countries.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in DuPont's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated.

These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance, and seasonality of sales of agricultural products.