There is no fast solution to the Brazilian dependence on imported fertilizers
Brazil
Administrative Council for Economic Defense approved without restrictions the acquisition of 30% of the share capital of Superbac by the investment fund XP Private Equity II. (Superbac Biotechnology Solutions S.A; XP Investimentos)
“Now will be a year of reducing costs, reducing the use of fertilizers and other chemical products”, according to Leandro Köhn, president of Aprosoja from the State of Bahia. Köhn said that for the time being it is not possible to measure the decrease in the volume of fertilizers used by farmers, that already reached 25% in the last harvest, but there will be a reduction, specifically on the use of phosphorus. “The majority of farmers will reduce [the use] of fertilizers, mainly phosphorus and part of potassium chloride. Farmers will evaluate case-by-case, but there will be a reduction because, although fertilizer prices have fallen, soybean prices have fallen more”. Sowing for the 2023/24 season begins in October in the State of Bahia. (Aprosoja-BA)
Deficit in the trade balance of chemical products reached US$ 19.5 billion during the first five months of 2023. Value represents a decrease of 16.3% compared to 2022. There was a reduction in imported values of agricultural products, with a decrease of 36.1% for intermediates for fertilizers and 32.8% for pesticides. (Abiquim)
Anvisa approves toxicological evaluation of the fungicide ipflufenoquin (
Ministry of Agriculture attends OECD international conference regarding the use of drones for pesticide spraying, represented by the head of the Agricultural Aviation Division, Uéllen Colatto. The Ministry is reviewing the legislation regarding
Federal Highway Police seized 50 gallons of paraquat, a herbicide banned in Brazil, in Ijuí, State of Rio Grande do Sul. The pesticide is suspected to be of Argentine origin. (Federal Highway Police)
Fertilizer import prices continue to decrease, reaching the lowest values in almost two years, in May of 2023. Average import value was US$ 0.40/kg in the period. Average import price from January and May of 2023 reached US$0.44/kg, a value 30.5% lower compared to the same period of 2022. (Secretariat of Foreign Trade)
Delivery of fertilizers to the Brazilian market ended the 1Q of 2023 with 8.5 million tonnes, a reduction of 1.2% compared to the same period of 2022. State of Mato Grosso remains in the lead in deliveries to the market, reaching 25.1% of the total volume, with 2.14 million tonnes. (ANDA)
According to Luiz Roberto Barcelos, co-founder of Agrícola Famosa and director of Abrafrutas, “more registration of pesticides does not mean that there will be more use”. According to Barcelos, “those are new, more modern, more selective, more efficient and less toxic molecules… only those who need them will be used, and there will be a replacement of the old ones for the new ones”. (Abrafrutas)
State of Espírito Santo had the biggest number of cases of pesticide poisoning between 2021 and 2022, reaching 304 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. States of Tocantins and Paraná are in 2nd and 3rd place. (Ministry of Health)
“There is no quick solution to the Brazilian dependence on imported fertilizers”, according to the CEO of Yara Fertilizantes, Marcelo Altieri. “Brazil should produce more raw materials such as phosphorus and potassium. This requires investment in mining. Today, there are other places in the world where you can mine with less environmental impact… until 2050, we don’t see a scenario that quickly solves this dependency”, said Altieri. (Yara Fertilizantes)
Former Minister of Agriculture and political coordinator of the Agribusiness Parliamentary Front, Tereza Cristina, said regarding the P
Latin America
Rainbow plans to expand production capacity in Argentina. In April of 2023, the company acquired 6 hectares in the Buenos Aires Ezeiza Industrial Park to build a new factory. A production line will be built with a capacity for 40 thousand tonnes of SL, SG, WG and EC formulations. According to the company, the work will be completed in the 4Q of 2024. (Rainbow Agro)
Government of Argentina seeks to establish the amount needed to cover agrochemical imports over the next 90 days. Ministry of Agriculture and private chambers are holding meetings to define the amount of dollars needed for input imports. For wheat, for example, there is a lack of US$ 200 million in pesticides. Annually, Argentina’s agriculture needs an average of US$ 3 billion in pesticides and US$ 2.4 billion in fertilizers. “All claims have been heard; we want to define a number for June, July, August, the next three months, about the needs [of purchases from abroad]”, according to a note from the Ministry. (Ministry of Agriculture; Ciafa)
Study performed within the scope of the National Plant Fertilization and Nutrition Plan 2019 – 2025 in Bolivia established that the use of NPK-based fertilizers increases crop yields in the country by 70%, on average. Yield gains in wheat can reach up to 130%. According to the minister of hydrocarbons and energy, Franklin Molina, the Cochabamba Granulated Fertilizer Plant construction should be concluded in three months. It will supply 60,000 tonnes of NPK per year. This should meet all of the country’s needs. (Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy)
Bill No. 23,783 seeks to ban pesticides considered highly hazardous to health and/or the environment in Costa Rica. Bill aims to ban products such as glyphosate, chlorothalonil, paraquat, fipronil, carbosulfan, methyl bromide, among others. Some of these pesticides are already banned by executive decree. “In addition to seeking a ban on agrochemicals such as glyphosate, we are proposing a digital recommendation for agronomists to keep a record of the products they are using… It is not possible for our country to take so many years to register new and less polluting molecules”, said Congresswoman Kattia Cambronero. (Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica)
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