Overview by AgriBrasilis (March 20th - 26th)

Reopening of soybean meal and oil exports after a 33% increase in export tariffs, known as “retenciones”. High tax affects 11 companies exporting soybean byproducts. Increase in rates generates rejection among farmers. (Ministry of Agriculture)

Corn yield estimates drop up to 50%, due to climatic anomalies, which caused great disparity between different regions, ranging from 20 to 105 bags/hectare(Rosário Stock Exchange)

Increase in interest rate to 44.5% per year to combat global supply shock, being the third increase carried out by the Central Bank of Argentina in 2022. World scenario of increase in grain and energy prices is impacting domestic inflation. (Central Bank of Argentina)

Poultry farmers request to the government to import corn to guarantee the supply of poultry and eggs in the domestic market. Lack of product forces farmers to buy more expensive products and bear losses. (Santa Cruz Poultry Farmers Association)

International Development Bank will provide a credit line of US$ 1.2 billion for agricultural sustainability projects, benefitting programs such as AgroNordeste, which will receive US$ 230 million. (Ministry of Economy)

Harvest Guarantee authorizes payment to more than 16,000 family farmers in March, benefitting the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte. The payments sum up to US$ 2.7 million. (Ministry of Agriculture)

Second stage of vaccination against Classical Swine Fever begins on March 21st and runs until April 30th, with a forecast of immunizing about 120,000 animals. Vaccines were donated by Zoetis Indústria de Produtos Veterinários. (Ministry of Agriculture)

By 2026, it is estimated that 2 million farmers will be trained in the application of pesticides, in compliance with Decree No. 10,833/2021, which determines the need for mandatory training. (National Qualification Program for Pesticides and Related Products Applicators)

Ipea reduces the estimate of agricultural GDP for 2022, from 2.8% to 1%. The main reason for the adjustment was the estimate by the Systematic Agricultural Production Survey (LSPA) of an 8.8% drop in soybean production. (Ipea)

Import taxes on ethanol and six other products will be zeroed by the end of 2022. An impact of US$ 207.9 million is expected on public coffers because of loss in government revenue. (Ministry of Economy)

Exports of orange juice decline in volume, but revenue grows by 9%. Droughts and frosts hamper supply to foreign market. (CitrusBR)

Cotton production cost rises 16% in the State of Mato Grosso, mainly due to input prices. Effective Operating Cost of cotton reached US$ 3,517.83/ha. (Imea)

Anvisa Director Cristiane Rose Jourdan Gomes votes in favor of banning carbendazim. (Anvisa)

Grape harvest begins with new control measures established by the Agricultural and Livestock Service. There are new obligations to maintain traceability of table grapes throughout the production chain. Road inspections will be carried out in the transport of grape cargo, in addition to inspections at night and on weekends. (SAG)

Buffalo Waffles announces commitment not to use eggs from caged hens. Policy will be applied in the 42 stores present in the country. In Chile, approximately 18 million hens are used by the egg industry, 98% of which are kept in cages. (Buffalo Waffles)

Beef consumption recovers faster than its substitutes. While beef has seen a 31% increase in 2021 and a 4% increase through February 2022, other animal protein options also possess similar increases. Russian invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate supply shock due to rising input costs. (Fedegan)

Corn cultivation in Bajío will not have sufficient supply of fertilizers. Only 400 thousand hectares will have enough input for production, compared to 1.4 million hectares where there will be a lack of product. (Bajío Corn Farmers Union)

Worst soybean harvest in country’s history has finished, with only 3 million tonnes, which was 70% smaller than expected. This was a result of a very severe drought between December 2021 and January 2022. (Association of Soybean, Oilseed and Cereal Farmers of Paraguay)

Exported 217,109 tonnes of fresh blueberries to 31 international markets in 2022. Peru continues to be first in the world ranking of fruit exports(Senasa)

In January, agriculture exports registered US$ 745 million in sales, which represented an increase of 14% compared to sales obtained in the same month of 2021. (Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation)

There is a growing need to use biofungicides to control powdery mildew disease (caused by fungi of the order Erysiphales) in table grapes. Fungi are developing resistance to triazoles, the main chemical group used against the pest. (Table Grape Farmers Association)

Poultry Farmer Association has agreed not to increase the price of eggs for a month due to the rise resulted from the death of chickens in January during a period of intense heat. (Association of Poultry Farmers of Uruguay)