China reduced shipments of phosphate fertilizers to Brazil
In order to protect its domestic market, China reduced shipments of phosphate fertilizers to Brazil by 50% between January and October 2022. Volume totaled 1.2 million tonnes in the period. China exported 1.2 million tonnes of the input to Brazil in the first ten months of 2022. In the same period of 2021, the volume reached 2.5 million tonnes. China has also increased enforcement requirements: all fertilizer shipments, except ammonium sulfate, go through a quarantine period in ports, that can reach 70 days. (StoneX Consultoria)
Programa Aplique Bem (Spray Well Program), a partnership with the Campinas Agronomic Institute and the private sector, offers free field training about agricultural spraying. According to Hamilton Ramos, researcher at IAC, the program has already qualified 80,000 people in 23 Brazilian states and carried out the propagation of technologies to seven other countries. “We work with a well-done spraying, offering guidance about a good sprayer, that should be well adjusted for the application of the pesticide, and with a well-trained person”, says Hamilton. According to the researcher, there is less waste and farmers are able to use less pesticides. (IAC)
Agricultural adjuvants, when combined with the correct choice of spray tip and adjustment of working pressure, reduce droplet trajectory deviation and improve spraying efficiency. Research by the Fundação Agrária de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Agrarian Foundation for Agricultural Research), seven agricultural adjuvants were tested with application in solution containing glyphosate, an herbicide which price increased 70 and 126% from August 2022 and August 2021. Rodrigo Ferreira, researcher at FAPA, explains that, when added to the spray mixture, adjuvants increase the efficiency of the active ingredients. “As well as increasing the performance of applications, reducing losses in the spray and maximizing the effects of the applied phytosanitary products”, said Ferreira. By reducing losses and increasing control efficiency, the interval between applications can be extended. (FAPA)
Fertilizer deliveries to Brazil reached 4.191 million tonnes in September, that represents a 12.6% decrease compared to the same period of 2021. From January and September, total deliveries reached 30.101 million tonnes, 10.5% below what was delivered in the nine months of the previous year. (National Association for the Diffusion of Fertilizers)
Rizobacter plans to grow by 25% in Brazil until 2025. It represents 75% of the revenues of the Bioceres group, that reached US$ 334.8 million in the fiscal year, that ended in June. Rizobacter signed a commercialization agreement with Syngenta and should start sales of biostimulants from ProFarm, a company that is also part of the Bioceres group. “We are working on commercial expansion projects in Brazil and providing financial support for the advancement of the other companies in the group”, says Renato Arantes, CEO of Rizobacter in Brazil. (Rizobacter)
Verde Agritech requested authorization from the National Land Transport Agency to build a railway branch in the countryside of the State of Minas Gerais, in a project that may require more than US$ 500 million in investments and should be taken over by a railway operator. Project provides for a connection between the company’s facilities, in São Gotardo, and the city of Ibiá, in the Western part of the State, for the transport of potassium fertilizer production. (Verde Agritech)
Nutrien invested US$ 500 million during 2022 for the acquisition of retailers in Brazil. It acquired 15 retailing stores in the country in 2022. (Nutrien)
Still without consensus, Bill 1459/2022, that provides for the registration, classification, control, and inspection of pesticides, will be discussed with the transition team of the new government. Text was approved by the House in February and is now being discussed by the Senate Agriculture Committee. (Senate News Agency)
Federal Highway Police seized 700 liters of smuggled pesticides from Argentina in São Mateus do Sul, State of Paraná. (PRF)
Tom Luigs, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fertilizantes Heringer, resigned from his position less than five months after being elected. During Luigs’ tenure, internal investigations revealed “evidence of fraud“, with overpriced payments of US$ 9.47 million in maintenance services contracts. In addition, his tenure was marked by the attempt to remove the company’s shares from B3 through a public takeover offer, that was even suspended because of a disagreement with shareholders regarding the value offered for each share. (Heringer fertilizers; Eurochem)
Eurochem increased its proposal for Fertilizantes Heringer stocks, in an operation to delist the company’s capital. New proposal is of US$ 3.6 per stock to the shareholder who opts for the procedure in cash. Shares of Fertilizantes Heringer opened the trading session on 11/29 quoted at US$ 3.22. (Eurochem)
Average prices charged per tonne of imported fertilizers have been falling since reaching a peak of approximately US$ 800 in June 2022. “Fertilizers have a growing supply, that has not been accompanied by the demand, resulting in a drop in prices. This increase in supply comes after a period of scarcity in the foreign market, because of the war in Russia and Ukraine…”, explained Murilo Alvin, research director at IBGE. (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics)
Fertilizer imports of US$ 1.257 billion in November, with a daily average of US$ 62.85 million. Total imported amount reached 2.386 million tonnes in the month, with a daily average of 119.33 thousand tonnes. Average price per tonne reached US$ 526.70. A 42.9% decrease in the average daily import value, with 50% loss in the average daily imported amount and a 14.1% increase in the average price, compared to November 2021. (Ministry of Economy; Foreign Trade Secretariat)
Galvani delivered more than 15 thousand tonnes of sulfuric acid in 2022, a company record in the period. It is investing US$ 37.88 million to double its fertilizer production, that should increase from 600 thousand tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes per year. (Agência Safras; Galvani)
In 2023, Yara plans to use biomethane as a renewable energy source in the industrial complex located in Cubatão, State of São Paulo, for the production of ammonia and green fertilizer. Biomethane should decrease greenhouse gas emissions by the company’s production by at least 80%. (Yara Fertilizantes)
National Rural Learning Service promoted the seminar “Use of Bioinputs in Fruit Farming”, with farmers and experts, addressing uses, market trends and the presence of bioinputs in Brazilian fruit exports. “The estimate for the next five years is that consumption will grow 75% and 100%, from five billion in 2020 to 11 billion tonnes. Currently, the main use is in soybean, sugarcane and corn, but in fruit farming we have applications in banana, atemoya, avocado, grapes, mango and citrus”, said Joseilton Faria, from Biomulti Sustainable Agriculture, during the event. (Senar; Biomulti Agricultura Sustentável)
More than 2,600 liters of pesticides were seized in a warehouse in the Guarani neighborhood, in Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais. According to the Military Police and the Federal Highway Police, products were stolen from a farm in the city of Tupaciguara. (PFR)
Soybean farmers will have to spend more than expected to plant their crops during the 2022/23 season. Main factor responsible for the increase in production costs is the price of pesticides and fertilizers. Expenses on soybean production for the 2022/23 season could reach US$ 1325.66 per hectare. Costs with pesticides used in soybean increased by 44% compared to the last season. Herbicides showed the most significant increase, reaching an increase of 275% compared to the previous season. (Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil)
Farmers in the South and Southeast regions of the State of Mato Grosso allege difficulties in the proper disposing of empty pesticide packing. Waiting time, that can reach up to one year, and the low number of receiving facilities are identified as the main causes. According to Sirléia Sevilha de Cotelo, manager of Cearpa’s packaging receiving unit in the city of Campo Verde, April, May and June are the months with the highest peaks in packaging disposal. “The unit has the capacity to receive the region’s demand. Farmers have to plan in advance, before the shed gets crowded, in order to make the appointment”, said the manager. (State Council of Association of Representatives of Agricultural Products of Campo Verde – MT; Patrulheiro Agro)
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