Eurochem will produce 15% of Brazilian phosphate demand
Brazil
Anvisa published voluntary withdrawal of toxicological evaluation of carbendazim 980 g/kg (AllierBrasil) and captan +thiophanate-methyl + benalaxyl-M (Syncrom). (Anvisa)
Agrocete Brasil, a plant nutrition, adjuvants, physiological and biological products company, will expand its facility located in Ponta Grossa, State of Paraná, with an investment of US$ 5.15 million. “The expansion is necessary to increase our production of biological inputs. We are following a movement in the agribusiness specialties market and investing in sustainable technology to develop new solutions”, said Guilherme de Figueiredo, the company’s commercial director. (Agrocete Brasil)
Biostimulants market in Brazil is growing and is estimated to represent US$ 3.7 billion. According to the country head of Elicit Plant in Brazil, Felipe Sulzbach, the adoption of biostimulants in the country reaches 30%, while in the world the adoption is around 18%. (Elicit Plant)
Agrocerrado opened up its first store in Cristalina, State of Goiás. It is part of Syngenta’s commercial platform, the Syngenta Agriculture Platform. “This region is responsible for a strong and diversified agriculture, with emphasis on soybean, corn, wheat, beans, potato, onion and other crops. Farmers seek for high investments and are very professional”, said Marcos Basso, director of the new unit, which has 1,050 m² to stock seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, biological products, etc. (Agrocerrado)
Eurochem received on December 20th a license to initiate phosphate fertilizer production in Serra do Salitre, State of Minas Gerais. It is estimated to manufacture 1 million tonnes of fertilizers per year, which represents 15% of national demand. Eurochem already produces phosphate concentrate in Serra do Salitre, which is sold to other companies to mix it. The new operation will allow the company to also manufacture finished fertilizers, with a higher added value. (Eurochem)
Route 3 Gas Pipeline (Gasoduto Rota 3), which connects the Santos Basin Pre-Salt Complex to the Petrochemical Complex of Rio de Janeiro, in Itaboraí, will start its operations in the 2H of 2024. It is estimated that the pipeline’s natural gas processing unit will increase the Brazilian supply by 14 million m³ per day. Natural gas is one of the main inputs for the production of nitrogen fertilizers. (Ministry of Mines and Energy)
According to Rodrigo Santana, Atlas Agro operation’s director, the fertilizer made from green hydrogen will be sold in the Brazilian market at the same price as the conventional fertilizer. “This is the great differentiation of our business model… It won’t be more expensive,” said Santana. “Our project will not need a gas pipeline. We’re going to have solar and wind power stations”. (EPBR; Atlas Agro)
After a reduction in the two previous seasons, pesticide drift in soybean complaints have increased again in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Since August, 99 cases were reported on grape, pecan, olive and other crops, mainly due to 2,4-D herbicide. “Due to the rainy year and the very short planting window, soybean farmers are rushing to sow and often do not observe the recommended weather conditions and technical issues for using their equipment”, said Ricardo Felicetti, director of the Department of Plant Defense from the State of Rio Grande do Sul Secretariat of Agriculture. (Seapi)
Incidence of stink bugs in soybean increased 20% in the 1H of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. According to Rafael Liu, product manager at Rizobacter, efficiency in stink bug control can be enhanced with the use of insecticides associated with adjuvants. “The use of pesticides, whether chemical or biological, associated with adjuvants has improved the results of applications. And if the objective is to enhance insecticides, so that they reach the plant in a more accurate way, an adjuvant will guarantee this efficiency”, said Liu. (Sindiveg; Rizobacter)
FMC will “restructure operations” in Brazil. The company is initiating a global restructuring plan due to the slowdown in the global crop protection market. Objective is to add between US$ 50 million and US$ 75 million to its adjusted EBITDA in 2024. (FMC Corporation)
State of Tocantins obtained approval from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the creation of the state’s first National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT). The new Institute will be the first in Terrestrial Ecotoxicology in Brazil and will study the effects of pesticides on diseases such as autism, Down syndrome and other degenerative diseases. “We hope that we will be successful in implementing this proposal, which is very important to Brazil, as understanding the factors surrounding the use of pesticides can have a positive impact not only on the health of the soil and the population, but also on better yields”, said the president of the Tocantins Research Support Foundation. (Government of Tocantins; Fapt)
497 kg of smuggled pesticides from Paraguay were seized by the Department of Border Operations, during Operation Hórus, in Maracaju, State of Mato Grosso do Sul. The material was found in an abandoned vehicle and sent to the Ponta Porã Federal Revenue Service. (DOF)
Bill No. 186/2021 that prohibits the use and application of pesticides in the vicinity of urban facilities and residential areas located in the urban and rural areas of the Municipality of Ponta Grossa, State of Paraná, was approved by the City Council. The bill still needs city hall approval. (Government of Paraná)
National Institute for Empty Packaging Processing guarantees a 99% return rate of pesticide packaging through reverse logistics, with greater traceability and itinerant collection of packaging in circulation, in order to carry out appropriate disposal. (inpEV)
Latin America
YPF Agro starts distribution of phytosanitary products in bulk in Argentina, developed by the company together with Y-TEC and approved by the National Food Safety and Quality Service. The technology makes possible to eliminate plastic packaging, which is problematic for farmers’ operational management. Initially it will be used for glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the country. The YPF Agro distributor delivers the product to the farm in trucks specially designated for this purpose, called Technological Mobile Tank (TMT), which take the product to each batch to supply the sprayer. They also have a system that allows to control consumption and automatically notify the distributor to replace the product when necessary. “The phytosanitary business will see strong growth in bulk movement. The future is here, because the problem of packaging handling is clear, both for the farmer and (before and after) for the entire industry, in addition to the reduction in operating time that it generates.” says Regina Izaguirre, project leader. (YPF Agro)
Joaquín Basanta is the first Argentine to win the Young Ibero-American Entrepreneur award from the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs (CEAJE), for his work with the company Agro Sustentable. The company was founded in 2015 in Argentina, with his partner, the agronomist Matías Imperiale. The company is a pioneer in manufacturing bio-inputs in the country, supplying the domestic and foreign markets with organic bio-inputs and applied technology services. (Agro Sustentable; CEAJE)
Satus SA is the first company to purchase land in the Palmira Services and Industries Park (PASIP), Argentina. The company will build a warehouse to produce fertilizers, on a plot of approximately 9,500 m2, with an investment of US$ 250 thousand. (Municipalidad de San Martín)
Bunge launches in Argentina a new line of fertilizers that temporarily inhibits nitrification, reducing the fraction of nitrates and their consequent loss through leaching and denitrification. The technology is an exclusive patent from Koch Agronomy Services (KAS) and is a nitrification inhibitor based on the active ingredient pronitridine, which temporarily occupies the active site of the enzyme ammonia monooxidase, responsible for the first stage of oxidation, and thus reduces the conversion rate of ammonium into nitrate, avoiding nitrogen loss and maximizing its availability for absorption by the crop. (Bunge; KAS)
In/out ratio of grains from Argentina are harmed after exchange rate measures announced by Luis Caputo, Minister of Economy. The situation arises from the reduction in grain prices and the increase in the value of inputs due to the new value of the import dollar and the extra cost generated by limitations on imports. According to Jeremías Battistoni, an analyst at AZ-Group, in recent days “it took 32% more soybeans and 33% more corn than average to buy a tonne of urea”, and the corresponding values for diammonium phosphate were 17 and 16% larger. Exchanging grains for calves is also not convenient, as 21% more soybeans and 22% more corn are needed for acquisition. (AZ-Group; Ministry of Economy)
Chile‘s Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) launched a campaign to prevent the entry of Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) into the country. Chile has been free from the pest for more than three decades, a condition that has allowed it to be ranked as one of the most important fruit exporters in the world. SAG is currently facing 12 outbreaks of Mediterranean fruit fly from Arica to the Metropolitan region. SAG National Director, José Guajardo Reyes, explained that “Each eradication campaign has a high cost for our country, requiring thousands of pesos, mobilizing a large number of personnel and intervening in the fruit trees of many families. Added to this is the closure of markets for farmers located in the affected areas. All of this could be avoided if products contaminated with this plague, from which only Chile is free in South America, were not brought into the country, which is why the appeal to citizens is urgent.” (SAG)
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