BASF announces new commercial strategy for fungicides in Brazil

BASF recently announced a new commercial strategy for its fungicides in Brazil. With the start of sales of the fungicide Keyra (Mefentrifluconazole (Revysol) + Fenpropimorph), used at the end of the 2024-25 soybean cycle, the German multinational launched the ″Escudo Verde″ (Green Shield) program.

According to Fábio Guerra, strategic marketing director for BASF's soybean cultivation system in Latin America, the program consists of three fungicides for the oilseed crop. Besides Keyra, which acts in the final part of the cycle and was launched last August, Green Shield includes Belyan (Mefentrifluconazole + Pyraclostrobin + Fluxapyroxad), used at the beginning of cultivation, and Blavity (Fluxapyroxad + Prothioconazole), for the intermediate cultivation period.

The fungicide market is at the center of BASF's global strategy, accounting for one-third of the company's revenue (3.04 billion euros). With the launch of Green Shield, BASF projects that the three products will capture about 65% of its total fungicide sales in Brazil by 2026, tripling these products' revenue in three years.

To achieve these goals, Green Shield will be the flagship of the company's marketing and new commercial strategy during Brazilian agricultural fairs in 2025. According to Patrícia Smirmaul, senior marketing manager for BASF's soybean cultivation system, to sell the three-product package, the company will showcase studies indicating above-average productivity results with the combination.

She revealed that the program includes an educational process to demonstrate the benefits of using all three products. According to tests conducted in the Brazilian state of Paraná, using Green Shield increased productivity by three to four bags per hectare. In the state of Goiás, productivity increased by three to five bags, according to the company.

The weather has helped Brazilian agriculture in the current season, but the abundant rainfall creates favorable conditions for fungal diseases. As a result, BASF reveals an increase in fungicide sales due to these weather conditions.

Fábio Guerra analyzed the beginning of 2025 with better prospects than 2024, with Brazilian farmers more positive due to more favorable weather. "With this mix, the business context improves for everyone in the industry. We should have a good start to 2025," the executive stated at a recent Green Shield presentation event.

To help drive market traction, BASF also announced it has raised R$ 800 million in its FIDC (Credit Rights Investment Funds) to finance input sales to distributors, cooperatives, and rural producers. The fund is FIDC Opea Agro Insumos, launched in 2022 and managed by Opea, which also acts as a collection agent.

"Financial operations involving structures like FIDC and other modalities account for an important slice of our business," Patricia Honda, BASF's Commercial Operations Manager, said in conclusion.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)