Agrochemical Update Brazil & Latin America - 04/12/2023

fertilizer sales

Urea exports from Bolivia reached a record of US$ 228.7 million


Brazil

The Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region upheld the conviction for an environmental crime against a farmer in the city of Sertão Santana, State of Rio Grande do Sul, arrested while importing and transporting pesticides illegally from Uruguay. Defendant was charged by the Federal Highway Police in the city of Camaquã, Rio Grande do Sul, carrying 25 packages of 200 g of herbicide CERIO 75 WG, 19 bottles of herbicide CAUDILLO 40 SC, 10 gallons of 5 L of the herbicide LIBERTADOR 48, three bottles of 1 L of the fungicide BREST SC and two 120 g packets of SELENIUM 75 WG insecticide. The farmer confessed that he would use the products in his rice farm and had acquired them “abroad because they are much cheaper than in Brazil”. (TRF-4)

According to Paulo Sérgio Pavinato, from the University of São Paulo, Brazilian reserves of raw material for potassium and phosphate fertilizers are limited. “If they were further exploited, they would only last for 20 years”. According to him, a large potential area for exploration of phosphate fertilizers is found in the Amazon, but the implementation cost for this activity could reach US$ 7 billion. (Esalq/USP)

Aplicador Legal Program has trained approximately 40,000 individuals, according to Sindiveg. Estimatives show that it will be necessary to train 2.5 million people by 2026. Mandatory certification for pesticide application will be in force as from December 31st, 2026. “This program is focused on small and medium-size farmers who have not had the opportunity to be qualified. The idea is to give them a uniform qualification and accredit them”, said the director of Sindiveg, Eliane Hiratsuka Kay. (National Syndicate of the Industry of Plant Protection Products)

Since March 2023, the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina has been processing a lawsuit filed by the Brazilian fertilizer company Tecnogran against Cofco, leader of the food and agricultural sectors in China. Tecnogran charges US$ 1.72 million for “non-compliance with terms signed in 24 contracts for the purchase and sale of 8 thousand tonnes of urea”, valued at US$ 7.39 million. Value refers to 37% of the cargo, that was not delivered by Tecnogran, according to the company, because of a bureaucratic delay of two months by Cofco. Cofco credits the delay to the Brazilian company. (TJ-SC)

Peanut pesticide market grew 28% during the current season, reaching US$ 98 million. Cultivated area increased 7.5%, reaching 215 thousand hectares, of which 90% are in the State of São Paulo. (Kynetec Consulting)

State Environmental Protection Foundation will monitor pesticides in river basins in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. After receiving US$ 148.93 thousand in resources for monitoring the Gravataí River basin, the foundation signed a Cooperation Agreement to transfer US$ 168.73 from the Fund for the Reconstitution of Damaged Assets of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Rio Grande do Sul for collection and analysis of water in eight sampling stations in the Alto Jacuí watershed. “It will be possible to carry out monitoring that has never been done before in the State and draw a profile in terms of potential pesticide residues in the two basins”, said the president of Fepam, Renato Chagas. (Fepam)

National Civil Aviation Agency decided to simplify regulations involving use of drones in agriculture. During the spraying of pesticides and sowing of seeds over unpopulated areas, drones will be classified as Class 3, regardless of weight, and may operate without need for mandatory insurance and project authorization, provided that visual conditions are respected and that operations remain below 120 meters. “Brazilian agribusiness has a lot to celebrate with this simplification. With the increasing use of precision agriculture and drones, we can only expect farming yields to grow,” said Paulo Villela, business development manager at Perfect Flight, an aerial spraying management and traceability platform. (ANAC; Perfect Flight)

Adriana Alencar is Mosaic’s new vice president of corporate affairs and sustainability. She left the company’s HR vice presidency. (The Mosaic Company)

Nutrien announces a new fertilizer mixing site in Itapetininga, State of São Paulo, with capacity to manufacture up to 750,000 tonnes/year, according to the company’s supply chain director for Latin America, Carlos Andrade. Facility should begin operating in 2024. Investment amount was not disclosed. (Nutrien Ag Solutions)

Lavoro’s combined revenue reached US$ 1 billion in the first fiscal half of 2023, an increase of 45% compared to 2022. Adjusted EBITDA increased 88% in the period, reaching US$ 118.5 million, while the company’s profit increased 68%, reaching US$ 50 million. “Lavoro is the largest agricultural inputs dealer in Brazil, but we believe we only have a 10% share of the Brazilian market. This represents a great long-term opportunity that we intend to capitalize on,” said Ruy Cunha, CEO of the company. (Lavoro Agro)

Minister of Planning and Budget, Simone Tebet, and governor of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Eduardo Riedel, should meet by the end of April with the interim president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, to defend investments of US$ 200 million to resume work on the Nitrogen Fertilizers Unit III, located in the city of Três Lagoas, State of Mato Grosso do Sul. Activities at the factory were paralyzed in 2014, with 81% of the project already executed, after an investment of US$ 790 million. (MPO)



Latin America

After Resolution 5339/2023, that removes tax exemption for importing companies in Argentinafertilizer and pesticide costs increased by 16% and 23%, respectively. (FYO)

Red Surcos represents 4.5% of the pesticide market share in Argentina, worth approximately US$3 billion. The company has 24 stores in the country. (Red Surcos)

Urea exports from Bolivia reached a record of US$ 228.7 million, equivalent to total sales made by the country between 2017 and 2021, that reached US$ 230.9 million in the period. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and Cuba were the countries that most demanded urea in 2022. (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos)

University Center for Biological and Agricultural Sciences, in Mexico, has identified neonicotinoid pesticides in fruits and other vegetables sold at free fairs and markets in the cities of Ciudad Guzmán and San Andrés Ixtlán, in the southern region of Jalisco. Most common product was imidacloprid, detected in onions, avocados, corn, beans and other crops. “61% of the samples contained neonicotinoids; 26% contained other pesticides; and only 13% were not contaminated,” reported researcher Silvia Ramos de Robles. (CUCBA)



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