“Competition over price and quality is always present, particularly in already consolidated segments…”
Gabriel Medina is a professor at the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine of the University of Brasília, holds a PhD in Natural Sciences from the University of Freiburg, a master’s degree in family farming and sustainable development and a bachelor’s degree in agrarian sciences from the Federal University of Pará.
AgriBrasilis – Is the growth of the biologicals market in Brazil sustainable?
Gabriel Medina – There is room for growth in the adoption of biologicals by farmers, which can sustain market growth. In highly technified regions, such as the surroundings of the Federal District (DF), adoption among soybean farmers reaches 41.7% for phosphorus biosolubilizers; 50% for Bacillus thuringiensis and 44.4% for baculovirus, both used as bioinsecticides; and up to 88.9% for bionematicides (https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/7/12/416). There is room to increase adoption both in regions with low technification and in highly technified regions, such as the DF.
AgriBrasilis – In which segments and regions is there room for further growth?
Gabriel Medina – There are two main opportunities for growth in the sector in Brazil:
- Increase adoption – Opportunities include both regions where adoption is already significant, such as the surroundings of the Federal District, Paraná and western Bahia, and regions where adoption is still incipient, such as Piauí in the case of soil fungicides, for example;
- Complement portfolios in segments and regions with lower competition – There are agricultural regions and biological segments with little competition, such as nematicides and solubilizers in Pará.
Competition over price and quality is always present, particularly in already consolidated segments such as inoculants. However, there are also opportunities to increase the adoption of biologicals in segments such as fungicides, nematicides and solubilizers; to complement portfolios with products not yet positioned, such as nematicides and solubilizers in new agricultural regions; and to consolidate regional niches that support the organic growth of the business.
AgriBrasilis – In which situations does a biological replace a chemical?
Gabriel Medina – There is consensus within the scientific community and among farmers regarding the use of inoculants to replace nitrogen fertilization in soybeans. There is also growing recognition of the effectiveness of bionematicides when compared to the chemical nematicides available on the market. For all other agricultural practices, however, bioinputs are seen as additional [complementary] to chemical inputs.
This scenario has begun to change recently in Brazil with the launch of biofungicides positioned as substitutes for chemicals in specific applications. For soil-borne diseases, for example, a new product from a Brazilian company is applied as a seed treatment and positioned as the first biological fungicide that replaces 100% of chemical products. The product would have the potential to replace chemicals used in soybean seed treatment, although the other production stages would still rely on chemical treatments in conventional systems.
For foliar diseases, the main biofungicides currently on the market are positioned as substitutes for multisite chemical fungicides under low disease pressure. As an example, a multinational biologicals company is launching a biofungicide composed of Bacillus velezensis that would have the potential to replace the first application of multisite and site-specific chemical fungicides in soybeans (usually applied between V3 and V4). In subsequent applications during the reproductive stage, chemical applications would be maintained in conventional cropping systems.
Although these are point substitutions in specific applications, these new products represent advances in the development of increasingly effective bioinputs with a broader spectrum of use. Even though chemical inputs remain the protagonists of conventional production systems, these new bioinputs reveal future potential for replacing chemicals with biologicals in specific applications.
AgriBrasilis – Which companies lead this market?
Gabriel Medina – Brazilian and foreign companies compete side by side in Brazil’s biologicals sector. Sales leaders with broad portfolios and greater presence across different Brazilian regions include the Brazilian company Cogny, owner of Simbiose and Bioma, with participation in fungicides, nematicides, insecticides and a strong presence in solubilizers, as well as the foreign multinationals Koppert and Biotrop. Other Brazilian groups stand out in specific segments and regions, such as JCO, with a strong presence in the Northeast with a fungus-based insecticide and Nitro Agro with a foliar fungicide, among several other companies.
It is estimated that the commercial reach of Brazilian companies corresponds to 50% of the market. The breadth of the Cogny group stands out, with 21.7% of the market based on an estimate carried out in 2025 for 14 Brazilian agricultural regions. Among multinationals, Koppert, Biotrop and Lallemand stand out with market coverage of 20.2%, 17.3% and 6.6%, respectively. The participation of Brazilian groups in industrial segments of the bioinputs sector is analyzed in an article published in the journal Commodities (https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2432/4/4/26).
AgriBrasilis – What limits the entry of foreign companies?
Gabriel Medina – Absolutely nothing, which is why foreign companies are among the market leaders in Brazil. The competitiveness of Brazilian companies, which are able to compete with large foreign groups, stems from investment in new technologies and collaboration with public research centers. More details can be found in an article published in the journal Sustainability (https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/2763).
AgriBrasilis – Does Brazil export biologicals technology?
Gabriel Medina – Just a small amount, although Brazilian companies have sought to enter markets in neighboring countries such as Paraguay and also in the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps the strongest initiative on this front is that of Abinbio [Brazilian Association of Bioinputs Industries], CropLife and ApexBrasil [Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency] to expand Brazilian bioinputs exports under the Brazil Bioinputs Project. More commonly, Brazilian companies supply products for foreign companies to complete their portfolios in Brazil.
AgriBrasilis – What are the prospects for the development of bioherbicides?
Gabriel Medina – There are still no bioherbicides registered in Brazil, although research is underway to develop commercial products.
The Federal University of Santa Maria is working on the development of a biological herbicide based on the fungus Fusarium fujikuroi. Private companies such as Biotrop and UPL are also researching the production of bioherbicides for registration in Brazil.
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