Grazielle Parenti<\/strong>, vice president of sustainability and institutional relations at Syngenta for Latin America, is now also the new vice president of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association.\u00a0(ABAG)<\/p>\nMosaic Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index reached 0.89 in December of 2023, a 6% drop from November. The lower the number, the better the exchange ratio for farmers. From November to December, there was a drop in the price of fertilizers and agricultural commodities, but the farmer’s purchasing power was favored.\u00a0(The Mosaic Company)<\/p>\n
“Last year,\u00a0there were\u00a0large volumes [of fertilizers] imported into Brazil.<\/strong>\u00a0The most representative is KCl [potassium chloride]. From January to December 2023, more than 13.5 million tonnes of the fertilizer landed in the main Brazilian ports\u201d, according to Jeferson Souza, market analyst at Agrinvest Commodities. “If we take what we had last year, we will see that the total value was US$ 12.8 billion (considering the main imported fertilizers). Therefore, from 2020 to 2023, the growth reached 88%”, said Souza. (Agrinvest Commodities)<\/p>\nAccording to Unigel’s CEO, Roberto Noronha, the company plans to\u00a0resume production of nitrogen fertilizers at the factories in the States of Sergipe and Bahia<\/strong>\u00a0in January, as a result of the industrialization agreement with Petrobras at the end of 2023. The factories have faced profitability problems due to the high costs of natural gas, which has brought financial difficulties to Unigel.\u00a0(Unigel)<\/p>\nMinistry of Agriculture has published deliberations on pesticide registrations<\/strong>, including 22 import authorizations, 2 cancellations of registration requests, 16 changes to the use recommendations of pesticide products, 9 transfers of ownership, etc.\u00a0(MAPA)<\/p>\nAccording to Cr\u00e9bio \u00c1vila, researcher at Embrapa, some pests are common in soybean-corn succession systems, affecting both crops:\u00a0the lesser cornstalk borer,\u00a0Elasmopalpus lignosellus<\/em>; the brown stink bug,\u00a0Euschistus heros<\/em>; the green-bellied stink bug,\u00a0Diceraeus melacanthus<\/em>; the silverleaf whitefly,\u00a0Bemisia tabaci<\/em>, and the fall armyworm,\u00a0Spodoptera frugiperda<\/em>. “The control of the\u00a0lesser cornstalk borer, both in soybeans and corn crops, is performed through the treatment of seeds with insecticides. The spraying of plants has not been efficient due to the location where the pests attack, which makes the spraying solution’s access difficult”, said \u00c1vila. “An important detail to ensure good efficiency in the control of\u00a0S. frugiperda<\/em>\u00a0is the spraying solution volume, which must be as big as possible, especially in corn crops.\u00a0Bt soybean plants do not provide effective control against\u00a0S. frugiperda<\/em>\u00a0caterpillars<\/strong>, but, in the case of corn, depending on the hybrid used, it is possible to achieve a satisfactory control with this technology.”\u00a0(Embrapa)<\/p>\nAccording to the congresswoman and national president of the Workers’ Party, Gleisi Hoffmann,\u00a0the reopening of the State of Paran\u00e1’s Nitrogen Fertilizer Factory should happen soon.<\/strong>\u00a0“We are changing this story. It was one of the objectives of our mandate and that of Lula’s government [Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil] to reopen the factory. And reopening is already on the horizon”, said Hoffmann. “With the war between Russia and Ukraine, the price of the inputs we manufacture internally became increasingly expensive”.\u00a0(Gleisi Hoffmann)<\/p>\nGowan has acquired the global rights to the\u00a0insecticide molecule cyromazine<\/strong>, from Syngenta. Transaction value was not disclosed. In Brazil, the active ingredient is used in the insecticide Trigard 750 WP, registered for use against the pea leaf miner (Lyriomyza huidobrensis<\/em>) in potatoes, chrysanthemums, beans, snap beans, watermelon, melon, cucumber, ornamental plants and tomatoes.\u00a0(Gowan)<\/p>\nDaniel Zilberknop resigned from his position as\u00a0deputy\u00a0CEO\u00a0of Unigel on December 22nd<\/sup>. Unigel’s board of directors is now made up of\u00a0Roberto Noronha<\/strong>, CEO, Andr\u00e9 Luis da Costa, vice-president of finance and investor relations, and Jos\u00e9 Roberto Heleno, director of operations.\u00a0(Unigel)<\/p>\nGrupo Botuver\u00e1, from Rondon\u00f3polis, State of Mato Grosso, has acquired 51% of Valloura Agroinova\u00e7\u00e3o, a manufacturer of special fertilizers,\u00a0 founded in 2019. The value of the deal was not disclosed. The new controlling company’s expectation is that Valloura will reach revenue of US$ 12.33 million in 2024. In five years,\u00a0the objective is to reach US$ 102.74 million in revenue from the sale of inputs in the States of Mato Grosso, Goi\u00e1s and Rond\u00f4nia.<\/strong>\u00a0(Grupo Botuver\u00e1)<\/p>\nBiological inoculants\u2019 share is increasing in grain production, according to Fernando Bonaf\u00e9 Sei, manager at Novozymes. \u201cThe cost-benefit ratio is extremely favorable. In addition to the lower costs, biological microorganisms can provide an average increase of up to 8% in the yield rate, with the use of inoculation in all years of soybean farming\u201d, said Bonaf\u00e9. The savings generated by the use of biological inputs in soybeans can reach billions of dollars.\u00a0Embrapa studies indicate that inoculants can contribute more than 300 kg of nitrogen per hectare to soybeans<\/strong>, at a cost of up to 95% less when compared to synthetic-based nitrogen fertilizers.\u00a0(Novozymes; Embrapa)<\/p>\nSergio Castanheiro<\/strong>\u00a0is the new operations director at EuroChem Brasil.\u00a0(EuroChem)<\/p>\nAccording to Pedro Henrique Urach, a specialist in pesticide application technology at Spraytech, the\u00a0incompatibility of agricultural pesticides in the farms<\/strong>\u00a0can be caused by: lack of knowledge of water quality; incorrect addition order to the spraying tank; little or bad agitation; low application volume; use of incompatible products; not carrying out the “bottle test”, which consists of simulating the sprayer tank with the help of a bottle or other compartment, before using the products in the crops.\u00a0(Spraytech)<\/p>\nAccording to Marco Gobesso, head of marketing at Grupo Piccin,\u00a0applying fertilizers at a variable rate can bring input savings of up to 20%<\/strong>, and increase average yields by 6%. \u201cFarmers should not apply fertilizers aiming at the average [needs of their area], but they should aim at the recommended rate according to a previous mapping of their area\u201d, according to Gobesso. Regarding post-planting fertilization, he explains that there is the possibility of carrying out the operation at this time, and that the farmers can fertilize with specific nutrients, according to the plants’ needs. \u201cEven if you did it at sowing, you can supplement it, sometimes with just phosphorus, or just potassium or nitrogen.\u201d\u00a0(Grupo Piccin)<\/p>\nAgricultural Defense Institute from the State of Mato Grosso – Indea awaits analysis results to conclude what caused the\u00a0death of thousands of bees on a farm in Sinop, State of Mato Grosso<\/strong>, according to the\u00a0Animal Health Defense coordinator, Jo\u00e3o Nespoli. The case happened in December of 2023. In July, the death of bees was also recorded, in the city of Sorriso, and the report pointed to the use of fipronil as the cause. At the time, Indea imposed a fine of US$ 45.89 thousand to a farmer.\u00a0(Indea)<\/p>\nAilton Arantes Cunha<\/strong>\u00a0is now the head of new business at the fertilizer company Morro Verde Fertilizantes.\u00a0(Morro Verde Fertilizantes)<\/p>\nCotton boll weevil\u00a0(Anthonomus grandis<\/em>)\u00a0can reduce cotton yields by up to 70%.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe boll weevil is a serious problem for cotton farming… Currently, 38% of the total cost of insecticides for the crop is used to control the boll weevil. In some cases, the control measures for this pest can exceed 20 pesticide applications per cycle\u201d, according to Marcos Queiroz, manager of insecticide innovations at Syngenta. Mites are considered the second main pest for cotton, with a negative impact on yields that can reach 40%. \u201cThey cause weight reduction, in addition to harming the quality of cotton. In dry and hot conditions, mites can generate up to 17 generations every 8 months. The most frequent dispersion occurs by wind”, said Queiroz, who recommends controlling these pests using a product containing the active ingredient isocicloseram.\u00a0(Syngenta)<\/p>\nNational potash production<\/strong>\u00a0is concentrated in the States of Amazonas and Sergipe. Even with a large reserve, Brazil still needs to resort to imports to meet its demand, being the country that imports the most potassium in the world. In 2022, Brazilian reserves were 2.3 million tonnes, the 12th largest global potash stock.\u00a0(USGS; ANM; Ministry of Mines and Energy)<\/p>\nAccording to Sergio Abud, member of the Brazilian Soybean Strategic Committee and biologist at Embrapa,\u00a0“biological products have been widely used as soil conditioners, root growth inducers, and in the control of pests and soil diseases<\/strong>, mainly as bionematicides, to control diseases such as white mold, and biofungicides to control foliar diseases”. According to Abud, biological products “also have a high selectivity, which reduces the range of action of these products, and prevents them from acting on beneficial organisms, such as the natural enemies of pests, allowing their multiplication and the re-establishment of these organisms in the crop\u201d.\u00a0( Embrapa; CESB)<\/p>\nMosaic is the first company in Brazil to use big bags\u00a0made\u00a0from polypropylene with post-consumer recycled content.<\/strong>\u00a0In partnership with Zaraplast, the company uses big bags with 30% post-consumer recycled resin.\u00a0(The Mosaic Company)<\/p>\nScheduled to open\u00a0up\u00a0in the 1Q of 2024, the Serra de Salitre Mining Complex, in the State of Minas Gerais, a project led by EuroChem in Brazil, is\u00a0expected to manufacture 1 million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers per year<\/strong>, equivalent to 15% of Brazilian consumption.\u00a0(EuroChem)<\/p>\nAmaggi, Coopercitrus, Souza e Lucas Participa\u00e7\u00f5es, Viola Participa\u00e7\u00f5es and Tecnobeef have announced the creation of an organomineral fertilizers company. <\/strong>The company will focus on crops such as soybeans, corn, sugarcane, citrus and coffee. Approval from the Administrative Council for Economic Defense is still required. (Amaggi; Coopercitrus)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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