Agrochemical Update Brazil & Latin America - 11/08/2023

Anvisa publishes withdrawal requests of toxicological evaluation of flonicamid and technical dicamba pesticides by Rainbow and Tradecorp, respectively. (Anvisa)

Marco Guimarães is the new leader of agronomic solutions for Latin America at Bayer. (Bayer)

Ibama will promote, on November 21^st and 22^nd, the “2^nd Workshop on the technical-scientific bases of the Environmental Risk Assessment of Pesticides”. Workshop “aims to expand technical discussions on the methodology for Environmental Risk Assessment of Pesticides for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, soil and aquatic organisms. It also intends to debate the drift of pesticide spraying”. (Ibama)

Joint Ordinance SDA/MAPA – Ibama – Anvisa No. 3, from 09/29/2023, establishes specific procedures for distribution of pending registration processes of equivalent technical products, pre-mixtures, formulated pesticide products and the like. Among other measures, the “rite of distribution of equivalent technical product processes will take into account the active ingredient, and the request in the first position of the analysis queue will determine the joint distribution of up to 20 processes of the same active ingredient, respecting protocol dates”. (Ministry of Agriculture)

98 fungicide containers (5 L each) were stolen from a farm in Rio Pardo, State of Rio Grande do Sul, in the district of Rincão del Rey, on November 2^nd. This is the second case in the region in a few days. On October 31^st, approximately 350 kg of pesticides, valued at US$ 20.43 thousand, were stolen from a farm in the district of Boqueirão, in General Câmara, State of Rio Grande do Sul. Rio Pardo is located 60 km from General Câmara. (Civil Police)

Coopercitrus should open up its first facility to sell agricultural inputs and technologies in the State of Mato Grosso, in Primavera do Leste, on November 21^st. “Our business model is increasingly focused on investments in technologies, systems and process improvements”, according to Fernando Degobbi, president of Coopercitrus. Of the revenue of US$ 1.92 billion recorded by the company in 2022, the sale of pesticides, fertilizers, seeds and animal feed represented approximately 50%. (Coopercitrus)

In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approves the toxicological evaluation of the formulated products trifloxystrobin 500 WG and terbuthylazine 500 SC from Cropchem. (Anvisa)

According to the president of FMC, Mark Douglas, the company seeks to restructure its operations in Brazil, review and adjust its global cost base, to “better adapt to market conditions, protect its margins and position itself for the future”. In Latin America, the company’s sales fell 33% when compared to 2022. (FMC Corporation)

Rainfall may favor the incidence of Asian rust in soybeans, caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi. According to Cláudia Godoy, a researcher at Embrapa Soybean, there is increasing difficulty in controlling the disease due to the fungus’ lower sensitivity to fungicides. “Recently it was reported a new fungus mutation, influencing the efficiency of fungicides that have the active ingredients prothioconazole and tebuconazole in their composition”, said Godoy. “The recommendation is that fungicides with these active ingredients should be used in rotation and always with the addition of multisite fungicides to increase control efficiency”. (Embrapa Soybean)

AgriConnection, an agricultural inputs company founded in 2019, in Campo Verde, State of Mato Grosso, announced the opening up of its office in the city of São Paulo. “The team based in São Paulo is responsible for international operations, for the contact with partner industries, especially in China and India, and institutional relations…”, according to Daniel Dias, managing partner of the company. (AgriConnection)

During the III Seminar on Resistance Management of Mato Grosso, in Cuiabá, State of Mato Grosso, researchers addressed cases of resistance caused by the inappropriate use of pesticides and Bt varieties, and the lack of product rotation in the State of Mato Grosso. In the case of diseases, researcher Mônica Muller, from Fundação MT, said that the practices recommended in the product leaflets, such as doses and application intervals, are fundamental to the success of the application. (Embrapa; Fundação MT)

Heavy rains in October have hampered the works at the Port of Paranaguá, in the State of Paraná, the main route for transporting fertilizers in Brazil. “Despite the high rainfall, we will deal with almost 5% more [fertilizers] than in the same period of last year. Our outlook until the end of the year is very good, even considering the periods of stoppage”, said the operations director of Portos do Paraná, Gabriel Vieira. (Portos do Paraná)

Ezequiel Dias Foundation (Funed) is part of the technical coordination of Anvisa’s Pesticide Residue Analysis Program. Funed is receiving guava and tomato samples, with an average of 30 samples per week. The foundation is expected to receive 560 samples by December. “The analysis of pesticide residues is expensive and complex and requires highly trained analysts and highly complex equipment”, said the head of the Specialized Chemistry Service at Funed, Mariana Almeida. (Funed; Anvisa)

According to Eurochem, construction of the Serra de Salitre Mining Complex, in the State of Minas Gerais, is almost complete, with only 10% of the work to be done. With investments of almost US$ 1 billion, it is estimated that the complex will produce more than one million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers per year. (Eurochem)

Fertilizer deliveries grew 10.4% from January to August in Brazil. Total imported fertilizers in the period reached 28.61 million. In August, 5.5 million tonnes were imported, an increase of 32.6% when compared to the same period of 2022. State of Mato Grosso received the most fertilizers, 23.9% of the total, followed by the States of Paraná and Goiás. (ANDA)

Unigel suspended activities at its fertilizer factory in Camaçari, State of Bahia. According to the Chemical, Petrochemical, Plastic and Pharmaceutical Industry Workers Union from the State of Bahia (Sindiquímica), the operation could end, causing the dismissal of at least 384 workers. José Pinheiro Lima, director of Sindiquímica, said the syndicate is trying to find a solution together with Unigel, Petrobras and the government of Bahia to protect the workers. (Unigel; Sindiquímica)

Military Highway Police seized 660 L of paraquat at SC-477, in the city of Canoinhas, State of Santa Catarina. (Military Highway Police)

“Campo Limpo” System has more than 400 sites to receive pesticide packages, and is present in all Brazilian States. “The reverse logistics of agricultural pesticide packaging is so strong in Brazil that we are a global success case. We were able to recycle 93% of all produced packages in the country in 2022“, said Marcelo Okamura, director of the National Institute of Empty Packages Processing. (Inpev)

Rain prevents farmers in Palotina, State of Paraná, from applying pesticides on soybeans. President of the Rural Union of Palotina, Edmílson Zabot, said that pesticide applications are about a week late, as it was not possible to enter the farms to perform them. (Rural Union of Palotina)

Research performed by the Federal Institute of the State of Goiás indicates that contamination by pesticides can affect air quality in the Cerrado biome. Study was conducted in a Permanent Preservation Area in Caiapônia, State of Goiás. It revealed a significant reduction in living cells and a proportional increase in dead cells in lichens, attributed to prolonged exposure and the concentration of glyphosate in the region. (IF Goiano)

Integrated pest management reduces by 53% the use of insecticides, according to research performed by IDR-Paraná and Embrapa. Research evaluated insecticide applications done over the last 10 years, on 1639 farms in the State of Paraná. (IDR-Paraná; Embrapa Soybean)

Technical report prepared by the Laboratory of the Federal University of the State of Alagoas points to presence of endosulfan, furosemide, and fluoroacetamide in the Santo Antônio river, located in Barra de Santo Antônio, State of Alagoas. Presence of the products is linked to death of fish in the region. “We also found high levels of potassium and phosphorus”, according to Emerson Soares, researcher at the university. (Ufal)

IAC-Quepia Program, partnership between the Agronomic Institute of Campinas and companies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for pesticide spraying, now has established a partnership with the University of Maryland Easternshore, USA. “The objective of the work with the American university is to contribute to the lowest possible exposure of pesticide applicators to the active ingredients of these products”, said Hamilton Ramos, the program’s coordinator. “The work covers the development of new recommendations involving the manufacture of PPE based on cotton and polyester”. In 16 years, IAC-Quepia achieved a drop in quality rejections of agricultural clothing manufactured in Brazil, which were of around 80%, to less than 20%. (IAC)

From October 1^st to 30^th, imports of 7.071 million tonnes of fertilizers were scheduled. Most of it should be unloaded through the port of Paranaguá, State of Paraná, (2.355 million tonnes). Port of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, should receive 1.228 million tonnes, while the Port of Santos, São Paulo, should receive 1.080 million tonnes. (Williams Brasil)