Lavoro Had a Loss of US$ 58.96 Million
Brazil
Ministry of Agriculture approves the registration of 14 equivalent technical product pesticides. (MAPA)
Lavoro had a loss of US$ 58.96 million in the fiscal 3Q/2024, compared to a loss of US$ 7.81 million in the previous year. Revenue increased 1% and reached US$ 480 million. The adjusted Ebitda fell 86%, reaching US$ 3.48 million. The Ebitda margin fell from 5.1% to 0.7%. The company’s CEO, Ruy Cunha, said that they had some difficulties given the late harvest and postponement of grain sales. (Lavoro Agro)
Resolution of the Collegiate Board of Anvisa – RDC No. 876, from 05/28/2024, amends resolution No. 413, from 08/20/2020, which provides for post-registration changes and cancellation of registration of biological products. (Anvisa)
Sugarcane Technology Center – CTC announced a partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks, a North American genetic engineering company, to discover and optimize molecules aimed at controlling sugarcane pests. “Ginkgo looks forward to applying its advanced molecule discovery and optimization services, and engineering platform, to improve plant traits together with CTC”, said Magalie Guilhabert, head of biologicals at Ginkgo. (CTC; Ginkgo Bioworks)
Considered one of the most important pests in cassava crops, the ello sphinx moth (Erinnys ello) can cause losses of around US$ 2.62 thousand/ha. Murilo Fazolin, researcher at Embrapa, warned of the risks of resistance to insecticides used against the insect. “There is a tendency for resistance to evolve, since there is a predominance of chemical pesticides to control the insect. The problem is the use of just one chemical group, the pyrethroids. And we have alternatives: the use of Baculovirus, a biological control product that has no environmental impact, with practically zero cost, because it is the farmer who produces this biological insecticide”, said Fazolin. (Embrapa)
“Advances and challenges in the use of biological agents” will be the theme of a lecture at the X Abisolo Forum and Exhibition, which will be given by professor Sério Mazaro, from the Federal University of Paraná. The event will be held on June 5th and 6th, organized by the Brazilian Association of Plant Nutrition Technology Industries. (Abisolo)
Logistical bottlenecks on important maritime routes, and the upward movement in glyphosate prices in China in recent weeks, could translate into higher costs for the input during the next agricultural season. (Itaú BBA)
Survey performed by the State of Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics shows that soybean farmers need to harvest at least 55 bags per hectare to cover production costs in the 2024/25 season. Operating costs fell to US$ 18.37. In the previous season, farmers needed to sell a bag of soybeans for at least US$ 20.69. The drop in operating costs is mainly due to the reduction in expenses with agricultural pesticides and macronutrient fertilizers, or NPK. (IMEA)
Normative Instruction No. 14/2024 establishes actions for the Plant Health Defense of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, with the aim of protecting the State’s citrus industry. The Instruction establishes complementary criteria and procedures for the prevention of the pest Candidatus liberibacter spp., which causes HLB, or greening, and the insect vector Diaphorina citri (citrus psyllid), which does not yet occur in Rio Grande do Sul. According to the director of the Department of Plant Defense of the Secretariat of Agriculture of Rio Grande do Sul, Ricardo Felicetti, the use of inappropriate seedlings is the main risk for diseases such as Greening to enter the State and the regulations meet the sector’s demands for greater phytosanitary protection. “We are reinforcing protective measures for the State’s citrus industry, especially in the restoration of new orchards, aiming to use pathogen-free seedlings”. (Seapi)
Ademar Oliveira is the new CEO of ADS Drones, the largest distributor of pesticide spraying drones in the Americas. According to a statement from the company, the objective is to reach revenues of US$ 47.87 million by the end of 2024. (ADS Drones)
In the State of Goiás, tomato farming for industrial processing is being affected by the “impaired tomato” condition, a phenomenon that has harmed plant growth and reduced yields, with losses of up to 80%. “The preliminary diagnosis, based on the symptoms we observed, suggests that phytonematodes are behind the problem”, according to Jadir Pinheiro, researcher at Embrapa. After a process of diagnosis, it was possible to identify the root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus brachyurus) as the likely cause of the problem. To deal with the nematode, Pinheiro recommends: planting healthy seedlings in trays with sterilized substrates; to avoid previously infested land; washing tractor tires and agricultural implements to remove soil particles; to disinfect agricultural machinery and equipment; to clean wells and irrigation canals after the rainy season. (Embrapa; UNB)
Nutrien announced the shutdown of three of its five fertilizer mixers in Brazil. The company took the decision to “conduct a strategic review and access new options, including an indefinite shutdown, for the three fertilizer mixers located in the cities of Alfenas, State of Minas Gerais, and in Morrinhos and Cristalina, in Goiás”, according to a company statement. This decision prioritizes “operational efficiency, profitability and the fact that we have partners and active operations in the States of São Paulo, Goiás and Minas Gerais”. (Nutrien Ag Solutions)
Fertilizer company Cibra announced a partnership with the packaging industry Embrasa to adopt an “anti-fraud big bag”, designed to store and transport agricultural inputs more safely. The objective is to mitigate risks of theft and adulteration of fertilizers. According to the company, conventional big bags use a system to close the discharge valve using ties, which allows easy access to the product and increases the risk of tampering. (Cibra Fertilizantes; Embrasa)
Henrique Franco is the new sales director of the “Sugarcane and Agricultural Companies Unit” at Syngenta. (Syngenta)
“What we have noticed in recent years is that producers are becoming increasingly curious and open to the use of organic products, which has been driving a growth that surprises some experts”, said Ruy Cunha, CEO of Lavoro Agro. “Today, practically all large input manufacturing companies have a division dedicated to biological products. Many of them entered the game via M&A [mergers and acquisitions]. At the end of last year, we witnessed the purchase of a bioinput manufacturer for US$ 540 million… With the market booming, news like this should become more common… Everyone wants a share of the bioinputs market”. (Lavoro Agro)
Paraná State Agricultural Defense Agency – Adapar has published the Ordinance No. 129/24, which establishes procedures for the entry of machinery, agricultural implements and their transport vehicles into the State of Paraná. Entry will only be allowed if all internal and external parts of the agricultural machines are clean, free of soil and vegetable residues. One of the threats that this seeks to avoid is the weed plant Amaranthus palmeri, which has not yet been recorded in the State of Paraná. “This is a species with great competitive capacity, which can lead to significant losses. In areas where it occurs, it can reduce the yields of soybeans, corn and cotton by 80% to 90%”, according to the head of the Plant Health Department at Adapar, Renato Young Blood. (Adapar)
Delcides Netto is the new marketing director at Grupo Sinova, a distributor of agricultural inputs. (Grupo Sinova)
Fertilizer deliveries in the Brazilian market reached 8.67 million tonnes in the 1Q/2024, a growth of 1.4% when compared to the same period of 2023, according to the National Association for Fertilizer Diffusion. At the end of the quarter, the indicator had a slight increase despite the 14.7% decline in fertilizer deliveries in March. (ANDA)
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, imported rice will not contain pesticides banned in Brazil: products that do not comply with Brazilian legislation will be discarded or banned from entering the country. “Articles with misinformation are propagating the false information that rice will be imported with banned pesticides… Since it was announced to combat speculation in the prices of rice in the country, the import has been the target of false narratives that question the quality of a product that hasn’t even been purchased yet”, according to a note by the Ministry. (MAPA)
State of Maranhão has carried out the environmentally correct disposal of more than 945 tonnes of empty pesticide packages in 2023. In the 1Q/2024, the State sent 397 tonnes of packages to the National Institute for the Process of Empty Pesticide Packages. (inpEV)
Latin America
João Benetti is the new senior commercial director of the Growing Solutions division of ICL South America. (ICL)
Improvement in the exchange rate between wheat and agricultural inputs in Argentina is once again heating up the fertilizer market. According to a survey by consulting firm AZ Group, the value of wheat went from US$ 188 per tonne in February to US$ 253 in May, an increase of 34%. In the case of urea, there was a 26% drop in prices during the period, reaching US$ 528 per tonne. Therefore, to buy a tonne of urea, farmers need 2.2 tonnes of wheat, compared to 3.8 tonnes in February. (AZ Group)
Peru‘s Ministry of Environment announced a US$ 4.72 million project to carry out the environmental management of 600 tonnes of equipment contaminated with PCB – polychlorinated biphenyl and 100 tonnes of pesticides. (Minam)
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