177 Pesticide Registrations Were Canceled in 2023 in Brazil
Brazil
Anvisa published rejection of the toxicological evaluation of 5 pesticides for organic agriculture from the company Agribiol – Biológicas Ltda. (Anvisa)
Arnaldo Cardoso, mayor of Buriti, State of Maranhão, has approved Bill No. 17/2024 that prohibits the aerial spraying of pesticides within Buriti’s limits. In case of violation, fines of up to 50 minimum salaries are foreseen, which can reach up to 100 in cases of repeated offenses. (Buriti Government)
Beekeeper whose hives were decimated by pesticide spraying received US$ 19.97 thousand as compensation. Irregular aerial spraying of pesticides killed 29 hives, with a population of 50 to 100 thousand bees each, on a farm in Terenos, State of Mato Grosso do Sul. The case went to Court, which granted a favorable ruling to the beekeeper. The irregular pesticide application happened through aerial spraying on a soybean farm next to the apiary, in January of 2020. (TJ/MS)
Civil Police arrested an individual carrying one tonne of counterfeit pesticides to be sold in Aparecida de Goiânia, State of Goiás. The arrest warrant was issued in accordance with the new Pesticide Law No. 14785, article 56, which punishes the transport of unauthorized or unregistered pesticides with up to nine years in prison. (Civil Police of the State of Goiás)
Brazilian Association of Bioinputs – ABBINS and Associated Group for Sustainable Agriculture sent a letter to the government regarding the “on farm” production of bioinputs (produced by the farmers themselves) without the need for registration. “In 2009, Decree No. 6913 was issued, granting this right to farmers and, since then, progress has been enormous in terms of reducing the use of [chemical] pesticides and increasing the use of bioinputs. However, this progress has been threatened since December of 2023, when Law No. 14785, known as the New Pesticides Law, was approved, removing the farmers’ right to produce their own bioinputs without the need for registration”, said Reginaldo Minaré, executive director of ABBINS (ABBINS; GAAS)
The Ministry of Agriculture has collected five tonnes of pesticides and illegal packages that were seized in the State of Santa Catarina. “Procedures involving the storage, packaging, transportation and disposal by incineration of illegal pesticides are complex and of high risk, which is why they require an adequate structure”, said the federal agricultural inspector Roberto Siqueira Filho. (MAPA)
In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approved the toxicological evaluation of the pesticides clethodim 240 g/L EC (Brilliance), clethodim 360 g/L EC (Proregistros), thiamethoxam 750 g/kg SG (CHDS). (Anvisa)
The Brazilian company Openeem has entered the agrochemicals market by launching a line of “botanicide” products, also known as “botanical pesticides”. Agricultural engineer Evandro Keller, director of R&D at the company, said that the products underwent trials conducted by 40 consulting firms and research institutes, with an investment of US$ 840 thousand in field research. Since 2016, the amount invested by the company in this business reached US$ 8.97 million. (Openeem)
Petrobras informs that it has terminated the tolling industrialization contract with Unigel. According to the State-owned company, the effectiveness conditions were not met within the deadline. “The contractors continue to analyze a definitive, profitable and viable solution for the supply of fertilizers to the Brazilian market”, according to a statement from Petrobras. The company plans to reorganize its operations in the fertilizer market in its Strategic Plan 2024 – 2028. (Petrobras)
Researchers from the Agricultural Research Service and the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture and the University of Florida held meetings and technical visits at different Embrapa units. The meetings are part of the Fertilize 4 Life initiative, organized by Labex North America. In 2024, in the initial phase of the project in the fertilizer area, US$ 612 thousand from the USDA and the US Department of State – DOS will be allocated to Embrapa. “The aim is to strengthen food security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture through the efficient use and alternatives of fertilizers, together with four countries: Brazil, Colombia, Pakistan and Vietnam”, said Caroline Brainer, project manager at DOS. (Embrapa)
Marcelo Pessanha is the new VP of sales and marketing at Lavoro Agro, leaving his position as CEO of the Crop Care Holding group. (Lavoro Agro)
The delivery of pesticide packages with liquid or solid waste (expired or not) has been permitted and regulated by the National Environmental Council since 2014, and can be carried out in 250 units of the Campo Limpo System. The challenge, highlights Antonio Carlos do Amaral, Operations Manager at the National Institute for the Processing of Empty Pesticide Packages – inpEV, is to provide information to farmers about the possibility of this disposal format. “It is worth noting that if these leftovers are not disposed of correctly, they can cause damage to the environment and to human health”. (inpEV)
Ports in the State of Paraná registered an annual increase of 14% in imports in the first five months of 2024, reaching 10.336 million tonnes, but the imports of fertilizers showed a slight drop of 1% in the period, totaling 3.903 million tonnes. Despite this, Paraná continues to be the main entry point for inputs in Brazil, with a static storage capacity that exceeds 3.5 million tonnes of fertilizers. (Portos do Paraná)
The largest agricultural cooperative in India, with organizations that bring together more than 50 million farmers, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative – IFFCO plans to bring nanoinput technology to Brazil. To enter the Brazilian market, the cooperative will initially license and sell products to the company Nanofert. “We have been using chemical fertilizers for a long time, and we have forgotten about the soil’s organic system. Over time, the soil becomes weak, the microbiota is affected”, said Yogendra Kumar, marketing director at IFFCO. (Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative – IFFCO)
Specialty fertilizers market showed growth in 2023, but at a more moderate pace when compared to previous years. The market showed an average increase of 2%, and revenue reached US$ 4 billion. (Abisolo)
Antônio Batista Figueiredo Neto is now a director at Protec Produtos Agrícolas, leaving his position as regional manager at UPL. (Protec Agricultural Products)
Ministry of Agriculture has published Ordinance No. 1127, which increases to 60 the number of reference specifications for pesticide products with approved use for organic agriculture. The new specifications are widely accessible and should facilitate the registration of products based on biological control agents. “Almost 90% of products based on biological control agents registered in Brazil are registered via reference specifications. Our expectation is that this number will increase with the new specifications”, highlights Angélica Wielewicki, head of the Reference Specifications Service at the Agricultural Defense Secretariat. (MAPA)
“For 2030, the estimate is the fertilizer and biological market will reach US$ 8.78 billion and Brazil will be the biggest exporter of biopesticide products in the world”, said João Pedro Cury, CEO of the Santa Clara Group, during the Hortitec agricultural event, which took place in the city of São Paulo. Cury announced that the company will invest US$ 21.96 million in the construction of an Innovation and Research Center in Jaboticabal, State of São Paulo. (Santa Clara Group)
According to João Lammel, vice-president of institutional relations at Sindiveg, the revenue obtained from the sale of pesticides fell 12% (in dollars) in the 1Q/2024, compared to the same period in 2023. Even so, Lammel said that there are conditions for a change of scenario until the end of the year, and that growth is estimated to reach from 3% to 5% by the end of 2024. (Sindiveg)
Ibama Ordinance No. 80, from 06/25/2024, “amends Annexes I and II of Ordinance No. 92, of September 14th, 2022, which approves the Internal Regulations of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources – Ibama, published in the Official Gazette of the Union, Section 1, on September 16th, 2022”. (Ibama)
Rodrigo Koriama is the new global portfolio manager at UPL. (UPL)
According to Carlos Guimarães, biofactory analyst at SLC Agrícola, “inundative bioherbicides use endemic phytopathogenic fungi, naturally associated with weeds, to control populations of invasive weeds. Normally, these fungi are not sufficient to eliminate undesirable plants. However, when they are mass-produced, formulated and applied like chemical herbicides, these bioherbicides offer efficient and sustainable control”. (SLC Agrícola)
Yara fertilizer company has paid US$ 10.30 million in guarantee to holders of Agribusiness Receivables Certificates (CRA). According to Eco Securitizadora, a securitization company responsible for issuing the certificates, the amounts will be used to redeem the CRAs with consequent payment of remuneration, default interest and fine. The repayment, which was scheduled to be settled June 20th, was not carried out because Yara did not receive from nine of the 26 companies with which it had business, whose debts were the basis for issuing the CRA titles. (Yara Fertilizantes)
Adeney de Freitas Bueno, researcher at Embrapa Soja (Embrapa Soybean), has published a research paper with Jaciara Gonçalves, Eduardo Calixto, Patrick Dourado, and Silvana Paula-Moraes, entitled “Oviposition patterns of primary defoliating lepidopterans in soybeans and the impact on recommendations of structured refuge” [a refuge area is a portion of the crop that does not contain the Bt trait]. According to the researchers, the findings “emphasize the importance of synchronizing Bt soybean planting and establishing the structured refuge. Additionally, when operational aspects in large soybean areas challenge this recommendation, the priority should be to plant the refuge area first. This approach will minimize the impact of selective oviposition of A. gemmatalis and C. includens”. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38940546/ (Embrapa Soja; Bayer Crop Science; University of Florida; UFPR)
According to Flavio Hirata, partner at the consulting firm AllierBrasil, 177 pesticide registrations were canceled in 2023, of which 48 were technical products and 129 were formulated pesticides. Of these, 89 were canceled at the request of the registrant company itself, as published in Brazil’s Official Gazette. Furthermore, 71 registration requests were canceled and 14 rejected, 33 of which were technical products and 52 were formulated pesticide products, totaling 85 applications that did not advance further. 63 registration requests were canceled at the solicitation of the registrant company. The companies with the most canceled registrations in 2023 were BASF, FMC, UPL and SUMITOMO, totaling 62% of cancellations. The active ingredients with the highest number of cancellations were carbendazim (22), pyraclostrobin (15), fipronil (9), mancozeb (8). (AllierBrasil)
During his participation in the Global Agribusiness Festival, in the city of São Paulo, Eduardo Monteiro, vice-president and country manager at Mosaic Fertilizantes, spoke about Brazil’s dependence on the import of fertilizers, mainly from Russia. “We have resources to reduce this dependence, as is the case of phosphate, which we produce 35% of our local needs. We need to invest in mining, but mainly we should have a strategic agenda in the country”. (The Mosaic Company)
US farmers have anticipated their purchases of phosphate fertilizers, while Brazil is also contributing to the increase in the demand for fertilizers for the 2024/25 season due to the restricted supply estimated for the 3Q/2024. The scenario of competition between the USA and Brazil to ensure purchases and deliveries of phosphate fertilizers contributes to increase prices on the American continent. In Brazil, farmers have been postponing the purchase of inputs, waiting for more advantageous prices. However, the rise in dollar prices (exchange rate Dollar x Real) reduced the demand of Brazilian farmers, as it made phosphate fertilizers more expensive, even though prices are lower when compared to 2023. (Argus)
SDA/MAPA Ordinance No. 1124, from 06/25/2024, established the National Program for the Control of Asian Soybean Rust – Phakopsora pachyrhizi (PNCFS) within the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. “The PNCFS aims to strengthen the soybean agricultural production system, bringing together strategic plant health defense actions with the support of agricultural research and technical assistance in disease prevention and control”. (SDA)
Ibama published a notice embargoing the company V. Lara Agronegócio Ltda., from Sinop, State of Mato Grosso, for “selling an extremely toxic product, 9000 liters of paraquat… the wholesale trade activities of agricultural pesticides are embargoed”. (Ibama)
Latin America
Through Resolution No. 694/2024 of the National Health and Agro-Food Quality Service – Senasa, Argentina now accepts equivalency processes from other countries for the registration of pesticide products. Equivalency of active ingredients approved by the USA, Mexico, EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil will be recognized. (Senasa)
The Occupational Safety Institute of the O’Higgins region, in Chile, held a seminar on the Epidemiological Surveillance Protocol for Workers Exposed to Pesticides, with the aim of preventing and detecting health problems caused by pesticides. Topics such as “Compliance with the Regulation on Health Safety Conditions in the Land Application of Agricultural Pesticides” were covered; “Good agricultural practices in the management and use of phytosanitary products”, by the director of human capital development and regulatory affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers and Importers of Phytosanitary Products, Roxane Flores; etc. (ISL)
Costa Rica‘s Minister of Health, Mary Munive, requests the population to report the illegal use, sale and transportation of chlorothalonil. The complete ban on the product came into force on July 1st. “If anyone finds that chlorothalonil continues to be manufactured, used, and sold, with testimonial and documentary evidence, it is necessary to go and file a complaint”, said Munive. (Ministry of Health of Costa Rica)
Almost 87% of acute poisonings in El Salvador are related to agrochemicals, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. From 2015 to 2022, 5,745 acute pesticide poisonings were reported. (Ministry of Health of El Salvador)
The study “Recent trends in pesticide imports in El Salvador” shows that an average of 2,527 tonnes of pesticides are imported annually into the country. Herbicides represent from 60% to 80% of pesticide imports. The four main active ingredients that make up herbicide imports are 2,4-D; paraquat, glyphosate, and atrazine. (IICA)
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