1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to processes for preparing 4-haloalkyl-3-mercapto-substituted 2-hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives and to the use thereof as intermediates for the synthesis of fine chemicals and of active agrochemical ingredients.
2. Description of Related Art
4-Haloalkyl-3-mercapto-substituted 2-hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives of the formula (I) constitute an important structural element in a multitude of agronomically active substances, as disclosed, for example, in US 2011/0045980 A1 and US 2011/0053779 A1.

However, the processes specified in these documents for preparing 4-haloalkyl-3-mercapto-substituted 2-hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives are restricted to performance on the laboratory scale, since they have a number of disadvantages and are thus unusable for industrial production: costly starting materials, multitude of reaction steps, reactions at very low temperatures.