Apr. 17, 2008
Brazil seeks to enlarge its agrochemical production to meet national demand. The Ministry of Agriculture’s chamber of agricultural inputs, the CTIA, defended the proposed policy in February. Its president, Cristiano Walter Simon, explained that farmers “could not continue to depend on imports” nor to choose “compromised” suppliers.
Mr Walter Simon praised the work of the co-ordinator general of co-operation to government departments, Aguinaldo José de Lima. “We have a more structured management in place, from where demands will be directly forwarded to the departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, speeding them up and avoiding the build up of applications [of registrations] to the [Agriculture] Minister Reinhold Stephanes.”
The chamber is calling for the speeding up of approvals for new pesticide active ingredients.
Brazil imported four times the amount of pesticides that it exported last year, according to figures from the Brazilian agrochemical industry trade union, the Sindag. The trade deficit in value and volume terms increased by more than a quarter. Imports reached $2,100 million in 2007, a rise of 23.5% on the previous year. Exports rose more moderately to $500 million. Imports were up by a quarter in volume terms and exports by less then 10%.
Brazil balance of trade in pesticides |
Value ($ 000) |
2006 |
% change |
2007 |
Imports |
1,700 |
23.5 |
2,100 |
Exports |
460 |
8.6 |
500 |
Balance deficit |
1,240 |
29.0 |
1,600 |
|
|
|
|
Volumes (tonnes 000) |
|
|
|
Imports |
217.0 |
25.0 |
271.2 |
Exports |
78.4 |
9.9 |
86.2 |
Balance deficit |
138.6 |
33.5 |
185.0 |
Source: Sindag
Ministry of Development figures show that Brazil imported three times the quantity of pesticides that it exported. However, its figures exclude some agrochemical trade, accounting only for pesticides under the trading bloc, Mercosur’s common external tariff, the country’s generic agrochemical industry association, the Aenda, cautions. Active ingredients took up 44.6% and formulated products some 55.4% of Brazil’s pesticide imports, according to the Ministry’s figures. Exports of formulated products dominated (87.1%), while ais accounted for just 12.9% of pesticide exports.
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