Brazil Agrochemical Update 01/20

  • High fertilizer prices increase production costs of corn for the 2021/22 season in the State of Mato Grosso. Fertilizers had a monthly increase of 4.55% in December, 2021. (Instituto Mato-Grossense de Economia Agropecuária)
  • Syngenta will not have enough diquat (desiccant) available to meet demand of farmers, even having difficulty delivering sales already made. Scarcity is justified because the desiccant is only one comparable to paraquat, banned in September 2020, which has greatly increased its demand. (Syngenta)
  • Association of Soybean and Corn Producers of the State of Mato Grosso alerts about lack of agricultural inputs for 2022/23 season. Brazil imports 76% of the raw material for its fertilizers and pesticides from China, Russia and India, but those countries face obstacles to maintain production rates. Low supply of agrochemicals increases prices up to 300% for some inputs (Aprosoja).
  • Anvisa approves toxicological evaluation of two products containing active ingredient impirfluxam. (Anvisa)
  • Atlas of pesticides 2022 points out that Brazil is the third country that uses the most agricultural pesticides in the world. Report highlights use in the country of several active ingredients that are banned in the European Union, such as fipronil, considered harmful to bees. (Heinrich Böll Foundation)
  • Port of Itaqui, in São Luís, State of Maranhão, received 3.3 million tons of fertilizers in 2021, more than 10% of the total cargo imported. For 2022, the Port announces an expansion of its capacity by more than 4.5 million tons. (Port of Itaqui)
  • Ministry of Agriculture approves registration of 12 equivalent technical products. (MAPA)
  • National Biosafety Technical Commission approves gene editing technology (CRISPR) from Argentine startup Bioheuris for weed control. Regulatory body concludes that plants obtained are not to be considered genetically modified organisms. Bioheuris just raised US$4 million through investors, with objective of developing herbicide-resistant traits in soybeans, rice, cotton, alfalfa and
    sorghum. (CTNBio)
  • Pesticide drift affects 600 silkworm farms in the State of Paraná in 2021, resulting in estimated losses of US$ 2.95 million. (Abraseda)