Agrochemical Update Brazil & Latin America - 10/25/2023

In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approves the toxicological evaluation of imazethapyr 212 g/L SL from Cropchem. (Anvisa)

According to Senator Tereza Cristina, former minister of agriculture and rapporteur for the Pesticides Bill No. 1459/2022 at the Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Commission, the Bill could be voted on during the coming weeks by the Federal Senate. According to her, this is a priority subject. “We are discussing so that the matter can move forward. It is of the country’s interest to have a modern and well-developed agriculture, and that is what pesticides are about”, said Cristina. Sérgio Souza, former president of the Agricultural Parliamentary Front, said that, if the Bill is approved, “we will use a smaller amount of ‘plant medicine’, as they [pesticides] will have a greater efficiency. Let’s produce more food with less pesticides”. (FPA)

Anvisa approves toxicological evaluation of two new formulated products (with active ingredient not yet registered in the country), based on florylpicoxamid, from CTVA. Anvisa also approved a new technical product with the active ingredient bixlozone, which has not yet been registered in the country, from FMC. (Anvisa)

According to Potássio do Brasil, the company aims to supply the State of Mato Grosso’s market with fertilizers from the mine in Autazes, State of Amazonas. To facilitate the delivery of potassium to farmers in Mato Grosso, the company signed a contract with Amaggi to supply 500 thousand tonnes per year. Adriano Espeschit, president of the company, said that the partnership with Amaggi will facilitate the delivery of products, in addition to ensuring that logistics will have a low carbon footprint. (Potássio do Brasil)

Arthur Torres will be the commercial director at Agrichem do Brasil, the plant nutrition brand from Nutrien Soluções Agrícolas, after November of 2023. (Nutrien Soluções Agrícolas; Agrichem do Brasil)

According to Redirection International, a consultancy specialized in M&A, the growth of the Brazilian biological inputs market, stimulated by the implementation of the National Bioinputs Program and the search for sustainable food production, should boost M&A activities in the country. “The spotlight is increasingly turning to alternatives, such as soil remineralization and the use of bio-inputs, which involve the use of raw materials of biological origin, such as microorganisms, plant, organic or natural materials”, according to Vinicius Oliveira, economist and partner at Redirection International. (Redirection International)

Anvisa published the voluntary withdrawal request of 31 pesticides from Basf. (Anvisa)

Fertilizantes Heringer, a fertilizer company, informed the resignation of Julio Enrique Varela Gubitosi of the Financial and Investor Affairs Director position. According to the company, the resignation is part of its restructuring process since the recent sale of its indirect control to EuroChem. (Fertilizantes Heringer)

According to CropLife Brasil, biological pesticides sales increased 30% in Brazil until September of 2023 and the projection is to grow 35% until the end of the year, reaching approximately US$ 800 million. Embrapa estimates that the market will reach US$ 3.37 billion by 2030. (Croplife Brasil; Embrapa Soja)

Reference Unit for Chemical and Biological Products (UR) informed over 130 agrochemical application instructors were trained, with the aim of teaching pesticide applicators. UR promotes professional training based on the requirements of Decree No. 10833/2021, which established the Federal Government’s Legal Applicator Program. “Today, only 30% to 40% of product applicators are trained according to good health, safety and technology practices, covering small, medium and large properties. This qualification deficit is high in Brazil and needs to be reduced”, said Hamilton Ramos, coordinator at the UR. (Reference Unit for Chemical and Biological Products)

There was a small decrease in the fertilizer purchasing power of Brazilian farmers in September, according to an indicator from The Mosaic Company. The Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index for September closed at 1, compared to 0.99 in August. The lower the indicator, the better the farmer’s ability is to purchase fertilizers. The indicator is still at a lower level than what was recorded in August of 2022, when fertilizer prices soared due to the war in Ukraine, reducing farmers’ purchasing power. The prices of phosphate fertilizers had the biggest increases. “The supply remains balanced and in line with the fact that prices in Brazil remain less attractive in relation to other purchasing regions such as the USA, Europe and India.”, according to Mosaic’s report. Meanwhile, potassium fertilizers “maintain the balance, resulting in a period of stability”. (The Mosaic Company)

According to Rodrigo Capella, general director of Ação Estratégica, professionals who work in companies in the agricultural pesticide market are the most committed to issues related to corporate governance. “The scenario proves the high engagement of the agricultural pesticide market with the topic of corporate governance. Regulatory aspects and society’s growing interest in the production process are some of the drivers”, said Capella. (Ação Estratégica)

According to the digital agriculture manager at SLC Agrícola, Ronei Sana, through the use of digital agriculture the company has saved US$ 16.38 million until June of 2023. The savings happened mainly in relation to the application of herbicides, insecticides and other pesticides. According to Sana, only in the case of herbicides, through selective spraying, it was possible to guarantee savings of up to 80% in the volume of products used in crops in the 2022/23 season. Selective spraying consists of making the sprayer identify, using sensors installed on the spray bar, where each weed plant is. From this identification, only the nozzle that is passing over the invasive plant is activated to apply the pesticide. (SLC Agrícola)

Silkworm farmers in the State of Paraná protested against pesticide drift on October 23^rd in the city of Nova Esperança, considered the “capital of silk” in Brazil. In the last two agricultural seasons, more than 500 families have quit silk farming due to losses that resulted from drift, caused by the irregular application of pesticides on neighboring farms. According to the organizers of the demonstration, more than a thousand complaints have already been filed with supervisory bodies. “There are farmers who will only return to silkworm breeding next year, because they need to redo the mulberry farms. In other cases, the cocoons did not develop, because they were poisoned. There are dozens of families without farming”, according to Sandra Manieri, president of the Nova Esperança Farmers Association. (Acesp; Acine; Nova Esperança City Hall)

Soybean grain rot is occurring more frequently in the mid-north region of the State of Mato Grosso and in the State of Rondônia since the 2018/19 harvest. “During visits to the region, we observed that the problem affected cultivars differently and that symptoms responded to fungicide treatments. Therefore, networks of cooperative trials were formed to evaluate the sensitivity of cultivars to the disease and the efficiency of fungicides”, said researcher Maurício Meyer, from Embrapa. According to experiments with the application of fungicides carried out by Embrapa, the “average severity of the disease in plants not treated with fungicides was 29.5%”. Fungicides containing prothioconazole stood out in the control, which ranged from 45% to 52%. (Embrapa Soybean)

300 liters of paraquat smuggled from Argentina were seized in the city of Mafra, State of Santa Catarina. (PRF)

3rd Federal Court of Santa Maria, State of Rio Grande do Sul, has condemned the Federal Government to pay US$ 3.98 thousand as compensation for moral damages to a 16-year-old, as a result of the young woman’s exposure to pesticides. The teenager filed a lawsuit stating she lives in Santa Maria, close to an area leased by the Government to a farmer, who used the land to grow soybean. According to the victim, pesticides were applied in the farm from August 2013 to April 2014. The Government claimed that the farmer should be considered responsible for the damages. (3rd Federal Court of Santa Maria)

Supreme Court should judge tax exemption for pesticides in Brazil this week. The rapporteur, Minister Edson Fachin, voted for the unconstitutionality of the tax reduction and exemption. Gilmar Mendes disagreed and André Mendonça suggested an intermediate vote. If there is no request for reviewing, the trial should end on Friday, October 27^th. (Rádio e TV Justiça)

Cities of Bauru, Botucatu and Lençóis Paulista, State of São Paulo, had pesticides in the water that was distributed to the population in 2022, according to a survey released by the NGO Repórter Brasil, with data from the Ministry of Health. According to the survey, the three cities are on the list of 210 Brazilian municipalities that showed levels of pesticides in water. They also had the highest number of pesticides identified in the water, with 27 each. (NGO Repórter Brasil)

2023 had a drop in the prices of the main inputs used in potato farming, mainly in the case of fertilizers. The 2022/23 harvest in the south of the State of Minas Gerais showed the most significant decrease in fertilizer value, which was 38%. Costs of fertilizers for potatoes are expected to increase again in 2024. Furthermore, a sharp drop was observed in the value spent for pesticides between 2022 and 2023 in Vargem Grande do Sul, State of São Paulo. (Cepea)

Brazilian imports of Israeli products totaled US$ 1.1 billion between January and September of 2023, with emphasis on fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. Among these products, almost 44% of the value refers to fertilizer imports. “Israel is the second largest supplier of phosphate and the fourth of potassium chloride and, if tensions affect logistics in this region, we could have supply problems. We should remember that oil is also part of the nitrogen chain. In the short term, inventories are high in Brazil, but if these conditions worsen and affect distribution chains, there could be problems ahead. We should remember that this greater tension also tends to devalue the Brazilian currency, which improves the competitiveness of our products, but makes imported inputs more expensive”, according to Alberto Pessina, CEO of the consultancy AgroMove. (AgroMove)