Pesticide sales in Brazil jump as prices rise

Pesticide sales in Brazil rose by almost 18% to 34.26 billion reais ($6.65 billion) in the first half of the year, industry group Sindiveg told Reuters on Monday, attributing the rise to higher logistics and raw material costs.

Sindiveg represents companies like Adama, Nutrien and Sumitomo Chemical, among others.

According to the industry group, prices rose reflecting global supply and demand dynamics, the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Domestic agrochemical prices also rose because of exchange rate factors. Most of the industry inputs are imported, Sindiveg said.

The area sprayed with agrochemicals was practically stable in Brazil, growing 0.2% between January and June, to 741.28 million hectares, Sindiveg said.

The total area planted with grains including soy, corn and wheat in Brazil is 73.8 million hectares (182.3 million acres), according to government data.

But commonly fields are sprayed with pesticides more than once, and with more than one type of product, hence the total area of applications is much larger than actual planted area, according to Sindiveg data.

Despite the rise in sales value, the growth was limited by problems concerning the soy crop, which was partly damaged by drought, reducing overall chemical applications on fields.