Brazilian agrochemical market dominated by soybean
Date:04-25-2008
The soybean agrochemical market was comfortably the largest in Brazil last year, the Brazilian agrochemical trade union, the Sindag, says. It accounted for 42.6% of the R$10,484 million ($5,189 million) market. The second-largest crop for pesticide sales was sugar cane, accounting for 12.4% of the market, followed by maize (11%) and cotton (9.8%). Other crops, including coffee and citrus fruits accounted for less than 5% of pesticide sales in the country.
|
Brazil’s agrochemical sales by crop |
|
Crop |
Sales R$ million
($ million1) |
share of sales (%) |
|
Soybeans |
4,464
(2,210) |
42.6 |
|
Sugar cane |
1,304
(643) |
12.4 |
|
Maize |
1,155
(570) |
11.0 |
|
Cotton |
1,024
(508) |
9.8 |
|
Coffee |
456
(223) |
4.3 |
|
Citrus fruits |
397
(197) |
3.8 |
|
Wheat |
247
(124) |
2.4 |
|
Rice |
238
(119) |
2.3 |
|
Beans |
182
(88) |
1.7 |
|
Others |
1,017
(503) |
9.7 |
|
Total |
10,484
(5,189) |
100.0 |
|
1 may not add up due to rounding. |
Source: Sindag.
The union notes that farmers of major crops, including soybeans, maize, coffee and cotton, are gaining buying power for pesticides. It cites a study from the agricultural market research group, the IEA. The survey produces a “swap relationship”, comparing pesticide prices in terms of bags of agricultural commodities. A lower relationship means that fewer bags of a crop are needed to purchase a typical basket of pesticides.
In the year to October 2007, the swap relationship for soybean farmers fell by 40.1%. The relationship had improved for farmers compared to an earlier study last year, which found that pesticides for maize farmers were 39.3% cheaper. Maize farmers saw a relationship of 41.2% (37.7%). Sugar cane farmers have seen the best turnaround. The relationship found that pesticides were 23.2% cheaper in October compared to 2006, while earlier last year they were more expensive. The Ministry of Agriculture explained earlier this month that farmers have suffered from price rises for other inputs, largely petroleum-based ones, such as for fuel or fertiliser.
Print this page. 