Illegal market accounts for 25% of pesticide supply in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A quarter of pesticides used in Brazil comes from the illegal market as a result of smuggling, theft, falsification or fraudulent import, according to an estimate by the Border Institute for Economic and Social Development (IDESF).

The projection published in an IDESF study released Wednesday is based on the increase in the volume of illegal pesticides seized by security forces in recent years and the frequency with which cargoes of increasingly large quantities are intercepted.

The institute has also launched an online platform with data on seizures and pesticide routes along the country’s roads, with geo-referencing of the clandestine market.

In 2020 alone, the Federal Highway Police (PRF) seized 70.4 tons of clandestine products, almost 14% more than in 2019 when it intercepted 61.9 tons. From 2018 through February this year, the volume of illegal pesticides seized reaches 214.7 tons, according to IDESF.

Mato Grosso do Sul (50.4 tons) leads the seizure ranking, followed by Minas Gerais (40.5), São Paulo (30.7), Paraná (27.2), Mato Grosso (25.1) and Rio Grande do Sul (14.4).

The main product found in these operations is emamectin benzoate insecticide in concentrations ranging from 30% to 95%. “With this substance purity rate, it would be possible to apply the product in crops up to 19 times considering the percentage allowed in Brazil, which poses serious risks to health and the environment,” IDESF says.

Only one company in Brazil is authorized to produce and sell the pesticide for soy, corn, bean, and cotton crops, at a concentration of 5%.

Saulo Sanson, the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety’s general coordinator of Borders and head of Operation Horus, which began in 2019, said that the loss caused to gangs is currently estimated at over R$3 billion (US$572 million).

The problem in the sector has worsened despite the closure of borders with Paraguay last year because of the pandemic, according to IDESF. Smuggling routes have diversified, as well as the basket of products entering Brazil illegally. In addition to benzoate, the list includes pesticides such as paraquat, banned in Brazil since September 2020, thiamethoxan, glyphosate, and carbedazin.

The entry of benzoate in greater volumes in Brazil may have been favored by a change in Paraguayan legislation in 2019, which now allows the product to be sold in any concentration, formerly limited to 10%. Consequently, the crime will only occur once the cargo crosses the border.

“Considering that the smuggled substances do not carry identification on concentration, emamectin benzoate may be applied in crops in excess of the permitted proportion, to immeasurable levels. Thus, one of the factors that favor smuggling is evident, namely the efficacy in pest control alleged by farmers, since the more concentrated, its higher and longer-lasting effect on pests,” the study says.

Bruno Breitenbach, the Ministry of Agriculture’s general coordinator of Pesticides and Related Products said that farmers need to be made aware not to use these products.

CropLife Brasil’s CEO Christian Lohbauer said that illegality is a serious problem for the sector. “We are talking about smuggling, theft, falsification, altered packaging, clandestine printing, a number of crimes that are very expensive for the industry and for Brazilian agriculture,” he said in a statement.

According to the study, the growing insertion of illegal products is based on legal and tax differences between Brazil and its neighboring countries, such as differentiated use and marketing licenses.

IDESF suggested legislative proposals, such as the creation of a national program to inspect agrochemicals, raising the penalty of imprisonment and fine, increasing the allocation of resources to equip inspection and enforcement agencies, and including the topic in MERCOSUR’s priority agendas.

In addition to identifying established routes, the study found the opening of new paths in the “spraying of illegal pesticides” to agricultural areas, with this smuggling niche expanding to border areas further north and to the central region of the country. “Minas Gerais and São Paulo are now registering large seizures. From the map, we see that the product enters through Uruguay and Paraguay,” alerted IDESF’s president Luciano Barros.

The real-time seizure data platform launched by the institute aims to be a tool for preventing and fighting this crime. “The platform enables the monitoring of the illegal market, not only of agrochemicals, but of other products, based on the security forces’ official interception records,” Barros explained.

Regarding the most used pesticide smuggling routes, BR-163 and BR-116 stand out with 54.8 and 28.1 tons seized by the PRF from 2018 through February this year. Next come BR-262 (17.3 tons), BR-365 (16.2 tons) and BR-363 (15.7 tons). Of these volumes, 23% were seized in Mato Grosso, 18.9% in Minas Gerais and 14.3% in São Paulo.