Soybean agrochemical sales in Brazil exceeded US$6 billion in 2020/21 crop year

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The sales of agrochemicals for soy crops in the country totaled R$ 31.3  (US$6) billion in the 2020/21 crop year, a 17% increase compared to the previous crop year, Spark Intelligence reported August 4. In the evaluation by product category, foliar fungicides accounted for 41% of the total, or R$12.7 billion, with a 13% increase in sales. These products comprise the protective fungicides, according to the consulting firm.

Farmers have increased the use of protective agents in the 2020/21 cycle. The Business Intelligence Panel (BIP) study, prepared by the company, points out that the adoption rate of this type of fungicides reached 71% compared to 68% in 2019/20. The average number of applications reached 2.1, a 5.6% increase. The potential area treated with these items was 58.9 million hectares, an 18% growth.

In revenue, the segment of protective fungicides for soybeans generated R$ 2.1 billion, up 23% compared to the 2019/20 crop year. The agents were mainly used in the management of resistance to the fungus that causes Asian rust. Still, according to Spark, sales of these products had advanced 46% between the 18/19 and 19/20 harvests, to R$ 1.75 billion.

The concern with the control of the disease should again boost the performance of the sale of protective products in the cycle 21/22. According to agricultural engineer Natalia Piai, Spark’s project coordinator, the trend is justified by the increased adoption of the so-called resistance management. “It is a practice with measures that contemplate the joint or alternate application of fungicides with different modes of action,” she said in a note.

There was an increase in the adoption rates of the protective agents in important states for soybean cultivation, such as Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul – 72% and 80% of the plantations, respectively.

In dollar terms, the BIP Spark Soybean survey recorded a 13% drop in agrochemical market revenue for the crop, from US$6.8 billion in the 2019-20 crop year to US$5.928 billion.