Crop Protection and Nutrition – Weekly Update Brazil & Latin America (12/04/25 – 12/10/25)

Ministry of Agriculture published 26 registration cancellations and 5 application withdrawals, 4 of which were at the request of the registrant companies. (Official Gazette of Brazil, Act No. 57 from 11/27/25, Ministry of Agriculture)

Pesticide poisonings in soybean and corn areas in western Pará have increased by 545% over the last five years, rising from 31 cases (2016–2020) to 200 notifications between 2021 and 2025, according to the Ministry of Health’s surveillance panel; Indigenous, quilombola and rural communities in Santarém, Belterra and Mojuí dos Campos report spraying near homes, schools and streams, while the Federal Prosecution Service has taken legal action to demand oversight and safety buffer zones for pesticide applications. (Ministry of Health)

National System of Economic and Fiscal Information Adjustment No. 42/2025, has authorized the States and the Federal District to waive the issuance of tax documents for operations involving used and rinsed pesticide packages and their coverings, handled by reverse logistics management entities between farmers, collection/receiving centers and recyclers, provided that the reverse logistics system is structured in line with the National Solid Waste Policy and that such operations are non-taxable or exempt from taxes on the circulation of goods. (Ministry of Finance)

According to Luis Rangel, member of the Sustainable Agribusiness Scientific Council, so-called “sin taxes” [higher tax rates imposed on products considered harmful, such as tobacco and alcohol] do not apply to agrochemicals, since they are essential inputs with inelastic demand; raising taxes makes food more expensive without reducing use, and the most appropriate policy, according to Rangel, would be to maintain tax selectivity for agricultural inputs. (CCAS)

Viter, the Votorantim Cimentos’ ag inputs business, specialized in limestone trading, has begun operating a 50,000-tonne warehouse in Nobres, State of Mato Grosso, as part of a US$ 60.5 million plan that includes increasing agricultural limestone production capacity by more than 20%, from 740 thousand to 900 thousand tonnes per year. (Viter Agro)

The November Inputs Bulletin of the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock shows Brazil imported 9.76 million tonnes of fertilizers from China from January to October of 2025. (CNA)

According to Renato Gomides, executive manager at CropLife Brasil, the end of tax benefits for crop protection products could increase their average price by around 25%, raise the cost of basic food, reduce agricultural GDP and jobs and increase inflation. (CropLife Brasil)

The Agriculture Secretariat of the State of Rio Grande do Sul has updated its interactive crop protection panel with sales data and technical recommendations through 2024, a tool that increases transparency, supports public policies and shows growing use of products in lower-toxicity categories. Available at: https://www.agricultura.rs.gov.br/painel-de-defensivos-agricolas-e-atualizado-com-dados-de-2024. (Seapi/RS)

BS Agro and GoGenetic Agro have inaugurated a laboratory in Sorriso, State of Mato Grosso, focused on genetic analysis of soil and bioinputs, aiming to provide faster and more detailed diagnostics to support management decisions and production planning in the region. (BS Agro; GoGenetic Agro)

With the onset of the rainy season, sword grass (Paspalum virgatum) and pasture spittlebug (Deois flavopicta) spread more quickly in pastures, reducing productivity and requiring early control. Embrapa classifies sword grass as one of the main weeds in wet areas and estimates annual losses of up to US$ 800 million caused by spittlebugs in the Cerrado Biome. (BASF; Embrapa)

FMC has appointed Leonardo Brusantin as its new sugarcane leader in Brazil, in charge of national strategy and relationships with growers and partners. (FMC Corporation)

According to Julio Nery, Director of Mining Affairs at the Brazilian Mining Institute, Brazil still faces “research problems” in potash and must turn areas with potential into proven reserves through continuous geological investment and projects such as the Autazes mine in the State of Amazonas, which could supply around 20% of national demand as from 2030 and reduce dependence on imported fertilizers, historically favored by ICMS Agreement 100/1997, which reduced state-level value-added tax (ICMS) on fertilizers and made imported products more competitive than domestic production. (Ibram)

Mining company Terra Brasil Minerals is seeking around US$ 1 billion to develop an integrated rare earths and fertilizer project in the Alto Paranaíba region, in the State of Minas Gerais, where it holds more than 3 billion tonnes of volcanic rock containing phosphate, potash and rare earth elements, with production potential for about 50 years. The company is evaluating a joint venture with foreign investors, amid growing interest from the USA and the EU in reducing dependence on China for these strategic raw materials. (Terra Brasil)

Municipality of Jataí, in the State of Goiás, held a meeting with millers and representatives from the industry to present biochar technology, which converts ag residues into fertilizers while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. During the event, Economic Development Secretary Rodrigo Garcia invited NetZero, winner of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition funded by the Musk Foundation, to set up a facility in the municipality, aiming to attract investment and promote low-carbon agriculture in the region. (Municipality of Jataí)

Mosaic has implemented operational innovation projects at its Tapira and Araxá units in the State of Minas Gerais to use ore previously considered waste and redesign operational routes, increasing efficiency and securing the supply of around 450 thousand tonnes of phosphate fertilizers to the Brazilian market in 2024, with economic and sustainability gains. (The Mosaic Company)

Biological crop nutrition inputs at Mosaic Brasil still account for a small share of its roughly US$ 1.11 billion in revenue, but already deliver margins of around 30%, compared with 3%-4% for traditional fertilizers; the company increased sales volumes from 150 thousand liters in 2024 to 1.5 million liters in 2025, reaching more than 10 million hectares, and is investing in R&D and a new biologicals laboratory in Uberaba, State of Minas Gerais, to improve the efficiency of mineral fertilizers. (The Mosaic Company)

Researchers from Brazil and the USA have identified in a Fusarium fungus a molecule with the potential to give rise to a new generation of agricultural bioinputs, showing herbicidal effects superior to synthetic products in seed germination inhibition tests, according to Embrapa; the expectation is to develop more efficient and environmentally safer biological solutions for weed control. (Embrapa)

Renato Seraphim, an agribusiness strategy expert and senior business advisor at Focus Partners, warned that farmers’ competitiveness in 2026 will be reshaped by a “revolution” driven by Chinese crop protection companies. According to him, seven Chinese giants, with new molecules and full control of the supply chain, could cut pesticide costs by up to 30%, but farmers will need to diversify suppliers and plan purchases more carefully to ensure security and predictability. (Focus Partners)

According to Reginaldo Minaré, executive director of the Brazilian Bioinputs Association, on-farm production of bioinputs, authorized since the approval of Decree No. 6913/2009 for on-farm use without registration, has 16 years of successful experience in Brazil, is internationally accepted and has become strategic to lower costs, increase farmers’ autonomy and foster new industrial segments, such as suppliers of inoculants, culture media, bioreactors and technical services. (ABBINS)

Experts from Embrapa and the University of São Paulo point out bioinputs already reached US$ 1.24 billion in Brazil and are used on 156 million hectares. Supported by the new Bioinputs Law No. 15070/2024 and by credit lines from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development, biological products are expected to replace part of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, reducing environmental risks and production costs for farmers. (Pesquisa FAPESP)

In compliance with court decisions, Anvisa approves toxicological evaluations of cyprodinil + fludioxonil and cyprodinil + boscalid (Rainbow); and bifenthrin + sulfoxaflor (Adama). (Official Gazette of Brazil, Res. No. 4932 – 4934 from 12/04/2025, Anvisa)

Crop protection market for cotton, in Brazil, reached US$ 1.33 billion in the 2024/25 season, down 3% from 2023/24 despite a 7% increase in planted area, mainly due to an average 10% drop in pesticide prices. Average spending on crop protection was US$ 640/ha (50% on insecticides), with significant cost differences between the States of Mato Grosso and Bahia because of boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) control, and projections for 2025/26 point to stable costs. (Kynetec Brasil)

The Ministry of Agriculture approved 23 technical products and pre-mixtures. (Official Gazette of Brazil, Act No. 58 from 12/03/2025, Ministry of Agriculture)

Jeferson Souza, analyst at Agrinvest Commodities, said that urea prices have fallen “significantly” over the last two months and that the corn/urea ratio in the State of Mato Grosso is at a middling level, while sulfate prices have increased again but remain within the historical range; for corn, he sees the main risk in the planting window, with likely area cuts in the States of Piauí, Tocantins and Maranhão (with a shift to sorghum production), a crisis of credit and delayed purchases of inputs and crop protection products, with farmers buying “hand-to-mouth.” (Agrinvest Commodities)

Researchers monitored corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) in maize farms in the State of Santa Catarina for two years and found that the insect is much more common in late off-season crops and during the reproductive stages of the plants. Many leafhoppers carried corn stunt disease and the maize rayado fino virus, which infects maize and causes yellow streaks on the leaves, reducing development. Infection was higher at lower altitudes and changed week by week, showing that risk varies over time and across regions. Researchers say trap networks and weekly alerts help farmers decide when to plant, where to avoid late crops close to older fields and when to increase pest control. (Cepaf/Epagri; UFSC)

Wallace Santos, partner at AgriGer Soluções, said that 2025 reshaped farmers’ fertilizer and agrochemical purchases more because of tight credit than prices themselves. In Brazil, growers are replacing monoammonium phosphate with single superphosphate and rapidly shifting from urea to ammonium sulfate, seeking better cost per unit of nitrogen and added sulfur, while potash prices are firm abroad but with much less buying ahead of time. In crop protection, commodity herbicides such as glyphosate and glufosinate have fallen to historic low prices, even as multi-site fungicides, biologicals and other molecules (like clethodim) move into cycles of higher prices; for 2026/27, Santos argues that success will depend less on paying the lowest price and more on timing and strategic purchasing decisions. (AgriGer Soluções)