Agricultural company Nufarm Ltd will expand into Italy following the purchase of a family owned crop protection business for $11 million.

Agrosol SRL, based in Ravenna in north eastern Italy, owns 130 product registrations and has a pipeline of new products due to be approved in coming years, Nufarm said.

The product portfolio is predominantly fungicides and insecticides, with current sales around $11 million.

Italy is one of the major agricultural markets in Western Europe and the only major market in that region where Nufarm does not currently have an operational presence, said Nufarm managing director Doug Rathbone.