Decrease of 49.9% in pesticide imports during the 1Q 2023
Brazil
Fertilizer, seed and pesticide prices decreased in the 2023/24 season for soybean. Production cost is expected to decline by 12.3% year-on-year. Decrease of 21% for fertilizers and correctives used in soybean farming, from US$ 482.82/ha to US$ 381.10/ha. Fungicide prices are expected to decrease by 9.2% and herbicide prices are expected to decline by 3.3%. Insecticides and adjuvants should increase by 3.9% and 37.6%, respectively. (Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics)
Federal Supreme Court will resume the trial against a law that prohibits the aerial spraying of pesticides in the State of Ceará. Plenary evaluation is scheduled for May 19th to 26th. The National Confederation of Agriculture questions the State Law No. 16.820/19, known as the Zé Maria do Tomé, that prohibits the aerial spraying of pesticides throughout the State. Ruralists claim the law is unconstitutional and would violate free enterprise and the objective of agricultural policies. (CNA; STF)
Deliveries of fertilizers to the market reached 2.67 million tonnes in February of 2023. Volume represents an increase of 6.7% compared to the same period of 2022. Mato Grosso was the leading State for deliveries in the period, with 27.2% of the total volume, or 1.65 million tonnes, followed by the States of Goiás (886 thousand), Paraná (688 thousand), Minas Gerais (628 thousand) and São Paulo (476 thousand). (ANDA)
Pesticide Bill No. 1459/22, that seeks to make the registration of pesticides more flexible and modern in Brazil, was forwarded on May 08th to the Senate Environment Committee. Text should be reviewed in a plenary session during the coming weeks. In a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture and Agrarian Reform of the Federal Senate, minister of agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, and minister of agrarian development, Paulo Teixeira, agree on the need to approve the Pesticide Bill. “When there is consensus in the sector, there is naturally also the withdrawal of inputs that could contaminate small farmers”, said Minister Teixeira. (CRA)(Federal Senate)
In compliance with court decisions, Anvisa approves toxicological evaluation of pesticides spirodiclofen (Rotam); flumioxazin (AllierBrasil); 2,4-D + picloram (Rainbow); and acetamiprid (Solus). (Anvisa)
Romeu Stanguerlin is the new Senior Vice President Latin America at Adama. “The combination of Brazil and Latin America, that together reached US$1.6 billion in sales in 2022, offers great opportunities and will ensure our focus on our 2023 business goals,” said Stanguerlin. (Adama Ltd.)
Brazilian biopesticide market should end the 2022/23 harvest with an increase of approximately 70% compared to the previous year, reaching US$ 1.12 billion. The result stems from the large-scale adoption of bioinputs by soybean, corn, sugarcane and cotton farmers. (CropLife Brasil)
National Civil Aviation Agency decided to simplify rules for the use of drones in agriculture, i.e., for the application of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. New rules came into effect from May 2nd, in accordance with the terms of Resolution No. 710, of 03/31/2023. (ANAC)
Decrease of 49.9% in pesticide imports during the 1Q 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. 81,000 tonnes of pesticides were purchased between January and April, compared to 161,000 tonnes imported in 2022. (Secretary of Foreign Trade)
The Fertilizer Plant Project in Santa Quitéria, State of Ceará, is under the environmental studies and licensing stage. Annual
Founders of Fertilizantes Heringer are questioning EuroChem, that acquired control of Heringer in 2021, regarding values to be received for negotiating the company’s public offer for the acquisition of shares. In the public notice for the tag along takeover bid, published in April, EuroChem stated that retained indemnity amounts, that represent approximately 50% of the value of the purchase of Fertilizantes Heringer, would not be paid to the founders. (EuroChem; Fertilizantes Heringer)
Published decree No. 11518, of May 5th, 2023, restructuring the National Council of Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition – Confert, that should debate and implement the National Fertilizer Plan. Objective is to reduce Brazil’s dependence on fertilizer imports by at least 50% by 2050. Currently, 85% of fertilizers used in Brazil are imported. According to vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, dependence on foreign fertilizers “costs to us US$ 25 billion per year. This money leaves the country to generate currency and jobs abroad”. (Federal Government)
Latin America
According to Mexican authorities, the high mortality of bees in the Campeche region was not caused by pesticides. Campeche’s Environment Secretariat said there were no irregular amounts of glyphosate or other pesticides in the 4,000 hives where more than 300,000 bees died in April. (Semabicce)
New company was founded with proprietary formulations of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides in Argentina. Agroterrum is headquartered in the city of Rafaela, Province of Santa Fé, and should receive investments of US$ 10 million over the next three years. Company has registrations approved by the National Health and Agro-Food Quality Service, and announces that, in 2023, 40 formulated products and products of their own brand will be launched. (Agroterrum; Senasa)
Minister of Oil of Venezuela, Pedro Tellechea, announces that government will distribute 121,000 tonnes of urea during the 2023 winter harvest, to ensure cultivation of 400,000 hectares of cereals and other crops in the country. (Ministry of Petroleum)
In the 1Q of 2023, Brazil purchased 77% of Bolivia’s urea and consolidated itself as the main purchaser of the fertilizer, according to the president of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos – YPFB, Armin Dorgathen. In the period, approximately 81,933 tonnes of fertilizers were delivered by the state-owned oil company. Of this total, 16,286 tonnes were for the domestic market and 65,647 tonnes for the foreign market. “20% of this amount was to supply the internal market and the surplus was destined to Brazil, the main buyer, with a volume superior to 63.3 thousand tonnes”, said Dorgathen. Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos earned more than US$ 31.9 million between January and March 2023. (YPFB)
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