Newsletter AgriBrasilis - March 4th
Rodrigo Ant?nio de Agostinho Mendon?a?is the president of the?Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources –?Ibama?since February of 2023, with a degree from the Law School of Bauru, a M.Sc. in environmental science and technology from Unisagrado and a M.SC. in biological sciences from the Metropolitan University of Santos.
?What were the main challenges since you took over the presidency?of?Ibama?
Ibama, Brazil’s main environmental agency, plays a crucial role in the implementation of national environmental policy. With 35 years of existence, Ibama is aging and facing a significant deficit in its staff numbers. Currently, Ibama has only 50% of its maximum staff capacity, which is a considerable drop compared to the 6,000 employees it once had.
(Access the full article on the?AgriBrasilis?website)
Media Partner Event:?AgroBrasília 2024?(May 21st to 25th, 2024 – Parque Tecnológico Ivaldo Cenci, Brasília, DF, Brazil)?
"AgroBrasília is a technology and business fair for rural entrepreneurs of different sizes and segments. Held by the Agricultural Cooperative of the Federal District Region (COOPA-DF), it serves as a showcase of new technologies for agribusiness and has a reference scenario in debates, lectures, courses on various topics related to the productive sector itself."
Argentina:?Rosário Stock Exchange reduced soybean harvest estimates due to hot and dry weather from the?middle?of January to early February. There should be a drop of 2.8 million tonnes of soybean production compared to an estimate made in January, when a harvest of 20.2 million tonnes was projected. Thus, the?soybean harvest is estimated at 17.4 million tonnes.?(Rosário Stock Exchange)
Bioceres Crop Solutions?is betting on the?strong expansion of agribusiness during the government of Javier Milei.?“There is a direct increase in farmers’ purchasing power,” said the company’s CEO, Federico Trucco. “When farmers move from a defensive mindset to one where they seek to maximize production, they invest in more technology, and in more precise technology, like ours. We can see this partially reflected in our earnings”. (Bioceres)
Brazil: President of the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture, congressman Pedro Lupion, said that?the government needs to admit there is an ongoing crisis in agriculture.?“I have been discussing this?with the Ministry of Agriculture. The first step is the government to admit and indicate we are in a crisis and we will need a reasonable and important amount of resources to compensate for this, whether with the Harvest Plan [Brazilian Government’s agricultural financing?program]?or with agricultural insurance”, according to Lupion. “Farmers planted soybeans at US$ 28.18/bag and are now selling them at US$ 18.11/bag. There will be a reduction of 20 million tonnes… We need to have a clearer analysis of this harvest, as some states have a high yield rate and others are showing?a decline.” (FPA)
Frimesa, an agro-industrial cooperative with HQ in Medianeira, State of Paraná, recorded?11% growth in revenue in 2023, reaching US$ 1.23 billion.?Surplus paid to cooperative members totaled US$ 7.33 million, 18% lower compared to 2022. Frimesa’s executive president, Elias José Zydek, states that, even below expectations, the year’s balance was positive. (Frimesa)
Food processor?BRF?recorded?net profit of US$ 165.68 million in the 4Q of 2023, the first after seven consecutive quarters of losses.?Sharp drop in corn prices was one of the main factors behind the improved performance. (BRF)
Sugar producer?Tereos?plans to significantly increase the production of the commodity in Brazil in 2024/25, said the group’s CEO in the country, Pierre Santoul. The company is investing to increase?the?share of sugarcane destined for sugar production to 70%, an increase of 3% compared to the previous cycle, reaching 2 million tonnes. According to Santoul,?
Brazilian sugarcane crushing should remain stable in 2024/25, even in the face of a crop failure of approximately 10%, which was estimated for the Center-South region. ( Tereos )
Chile:?Transition from El Ni?o to La Ni?a should cause?a lack of rain in some regions of Chile, such as in the Maule region, which should see a drop from 700 mm of rain during the winter to 250 or 300 mm. “In addition, the phenomenon brings low temperatures during the winter, because of polar air masses, which can cause frosts of 2 or 3 degrees below 0”, said Patricio Colville, researcher at the University of Talca. “La Ni?a could last up to 3 years”, he said. (University of Talca)
Colombia:?Colombian Agricultural Institute?has?updated?sanitary requirements for the?import of day-old chicks, fertile eggs, fresh or frozen poultry meat, and processed poultry meat products from the US.?The objective is to guarantee the entry of products that do not harm Colombia’s status as a self-declared country free from highly pathogenic avian influenza. (ICA)
Paraguay:??Trade agreement negotiations between Mercosur and the EU?are suspended?until European parliamentary elections in June are concluded, according to the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Josep Borrel [EU’s representative for foreign affairs and security policies] expressed to me the impossibility of the EU reaching an agreement, at least until the end of parliamentary elections, which will take place next June. Therefore, it is an agreement that remains pending…”, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rubén Lezcano. (MRE)
Peru:?Purchase of high-quality sugarcane seeds from Mexico should benefit more than 10 thousand farmers. The objective is to use genetic material to develop a breeding program in the country. “The?development of a new sugarcane variety with high stem biomass productivity?and juice quality aims to increase yields of more than 160 thousand hectares of crops in the regions of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Ancash, Lima and Arequipa”. (Ministry of Agriculture)
Marcelo Cordaro?is Chief Operating Officer of the energy company?Acelen Renewables, with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering, a M.Sc. from the Polytechnic School of the University of S?o Paulo and Ph.D. from Washington University.
Why will Acelen invest US$ 2.4 billion for the production of macauba biofuel?
Macauba palm (Acrocomia aculeata) has unique characteristics. It is a Brazilian plant with high oil yield per hectare, which is highly competitive when compared to other crops, with excellent efficiency in the use of water and nutrients.
As a native perennial species, adapted to the most arid regions of Brazil, macauba palm provides a complete sustainable solution for the energy sector and other segments, with the conservation or even recovery of biodiversity, as degraded areas will be replaced by macauba forest systems. Its cultivation will be done using the best agricultural and environmental practices, favoring carbon capture and the reduction of CO2 emissions from seed to fuel.
(Access the full article on the?AgriBrasilis?website)
“The acquisition of indirect controlling interest of the Fertilizantes Heringer fertilizer company?was important to our growth journey. The strategy reinforces our commitment to Brazilian agribusiness, strengthens our distribution capacity and helps us achieve our goals for South America”, said Gustavo Horbach, CEO of EuroChem for Latin America. (EuroChem)
BioSummit 2024?will?take place on May 28th?and 29th, in Campinas, State of S?o Paulo. “We are building a space to create business opportunities, where industry, farmers and the distribution sector are side by side with researchers and regulatory agencies to share knowledge and discuss trends”, said Daiana Lopes, CEO of FB Group, the event’s organizer. (FB Group)
Embrapa studied 932 populations of sourgrass (Digitaria insularis)?suspected of resistance to herbicides?between 2009 and 2023. Of the total, 799 samples were collected in the State of Paraná, and 133 in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. “None of the populations of?Digitaria insularis?was found to be resistant to the ACCase inhibitor herbicides studied, clethodim and haloxyfop, which, in addition to glyphosate, are the herbicides most used to control this weed. Therefore, all 932 populations were considered susceptible or tolerant to this group of herbicides. For glyphosate, the result was very different, as 718 of the 932 populations studied were identified as resistant… which represents 77% of the total.” ( Embrapa )
Macaé?municipality, State of Rio de Janeiro, plans to receive?US$ 1.01 billion in investments for a nitrogen fertilizer factory?through the National Fertilizer Plan. Mayor Welberth Rezende presented the project during a public hearing held at the Commercial and Industrial Association of Macaé. According to him, this project could create around 5 thousand jobs, strengthening the economic development of the region. Macaé plans to host one of five future fertilizer projects defined by the Federal Government. “We need to start thinking now about a way to take advantage of the strength of oil to guarantee the city’s economic future. And the fertilizer factory makes Macaé’s full potential viable in being the main city that receives and processes natural gas in Brazil”, said Welberth. (Macaé City Hall)
Research performed?by?the Federal University of Ceará indicates that?cypermethrin, deltamethrin, permethrin and malathion are contaminating the “Cocó” and “Ceará” rivers.?Next steps?of?the research involve understanding how those substances are metabolized by aquatic animals and how they react during the cooking process. The State Environmental Superintendence stated that it does not analyze pesticides when monitoring the water of the “Cocó” and “Ceará” rivers. (UFC; Semace )
In 2022,?biopesticides represented 9% of the Brazilian crop protection market, which represents more than double the percentage in 2020, around 4%. From 2018 to 2022, the Brazilian biopesticides market grew 62%, compared to an increase of approximately 16% in the global market during the period. (S&P Global)
According to Jeferson Souza , market analyst at Agrinvest Commodities, there should be an increase in the area planted with cotton, especially in the State of Mato Grosso. “Mato Grosso?is expected to cultivate more than 1.3 million hectares?in?this season. Analyzing production costs, we have a very expensive cotton crop. Expenditure on pesticides and fertilizers is much higher, in addition to requiring a much more robust structure when compared to soybeans and corn. When we think about the purchasing power of cotton farmers, in recent months, we realize that, in the case of fertilizers, such as urea, the values were very similar to historical averages. This is a totally different scenario from 2022″, according to Souza. ( Agrinvest Commodities )
Kynetec Brasil found that five key agribusiness crops generated, in 2022/23,?sales of more than US$ 28.07 billion in plant nutrition products. Cotton, sugarcane and off-season corn are also being considered by Kynetec’s research, which previously focused on coffee and soybean farming. These crops corresponded to 34% of the inputs market, of approximately US$ 83.39 billion, including pesticides and seeds. According to Kynetec’s research specialist, Raquel Ribeiro, soybean drove sales in the crops nutrition market, reaching 58% of the total, or US$ 16.24 billion, while off-season corn had the second best performance, reaching 18% or US$ 5.01 billion. Sugarcane, coffee and cotton sales of crop nutrition products reached US$ 3.61 billion (13%), US$ 1.80 billion (7%) and US$ 1 billion (4%), respectively. (Kynetec Brasil)
According to the president of Ibama,?Rodrigo de Agostinho Mendon?a, the Pesticides Law No. 14785/23?promotes “updates in pesticide legislation, notably in the 1989 regulations. Eleven vetoes were applied, most of them in response to requests from Ibama. In conjunction with Anvisa and the Ministry of Agriculture, Ibama plays a crucial role in the registration, analysis and revaluation of these products”. (Ibama)
Biostimulants have stood out in the plant nutrition market. In 2022/23,?63% (US$ 220 million) of biostimulants sold in Brazil were destined for soybeans, sugarcane, 16% (US$ 57.13 million), off-season corn, 12% (US$ 43.70 million), coffee, 6% (US$ 21.45 million) and cotton, 3% (US$ 12.03 million). In soybeans, at least 41% of the area received treatments with biostimulants. (Kynetec Brasil)
According to Nutrien ,?Brazilian farmers are expected to continue expanding the soybean area, which increases the need for fertilizer imports?in the 2Q and 3Q of 2024. According to the company, global demand for potash remained robust throughout the 2H of 2023, with estimates of annual shipments between 67 and 68 million tonnes. The increase was driven by strong consumption and increased imports in key markets such as North America, China and Brazil. (Nutrien)
AgroGalaxy hired Banco Santander as a?financial advisor to seek partners in a possible operation involving its seed business.?According to the company, this is a preliminary negotiation and there is, to date, no potential business under analysis/discussion involving the company’s seed business. (AgroGalaxy)
BASF estimates a slowdown in the company’s growth in?South America.?Performance in Brazil should weaken, while other countries in the region may recover. In South America, Africa and the Middle East, sales fell to US$2.23 billion due to lower volumes and negative exchange rate effects, mainly from the peso in?Argentina. (BASF)
André Savino?is the president of?Syngenta Crop Protection?in Brazil, with a degree in agronomic engineering from the State University of S?o Paulo – Unesp and an MBA in business administration from Dom Cabral Foundation.
Why is the agrochemicals market in Brazil expected to experience the “2023 rebound”?
Agriculture in Brazil and in the world is very cyclical. I have been in this market for more than 26 years and have experienced crises of various kinds. 2023 was difficult for the entire industry and, in the case of agribusiness, it was a year of adjustments in which the sector faced major challenges, such as the drop in the prices of farm products and problems in the foreign market.
We were coming from a very strong demand in 2022, right after the end of the pandemic, which accelerated the supply of production and demand for food, including opening new international markets for Brazilian agriculture and fostering the use of technology in the farms.
(Access the full article on the?AgriBrasilis?website)