The latest balance sheets of agrochemical multinationals showed drops in sales, and performance in Brazil was highlighted as one of the main negative factors. Portal Agrolink spoke with Flavio Hirata, director of Consultoria AllierBrasil, and asked:
Agrolink – Why have agrochemical sales slowed down in Brazil?
Flavio Hirata – Partly due to the high stock of products in resellers and large farmers at the end of the year. This practice in the market is known as passing stock.
Regarding the technical part and management, considering that soybeans are the largest market for agricultural pesticides, any and all introduction of new technologies in the cultivation of this oilseed tends to impact the use of agricultural pesticides. This is the case of Intact Soy. With the increase in the area planted with this GMO, there is a suppression of caterpillars and consequently a reduction in the applications of insecticides with traditionally high sales volumes such as methomyl, chlorpyrifos and physiological ones. Also the planting of soybean varieties with shorter cycles, thus reducing the exposure of the leaf area, reducing the potential for soybean rust infestation, and also the applications of end-of-cycle fungicides.
Finally, there is the influence of exchange rates and commodity prices on the international market. When international prices are low, sellers tend to hold off on sales until prices improve and then start selling. If farmers don't sell, they don't have the resources to buy pesticides, and they delay purchases.
Agrolink – What caused the high stocks at the beginning of the year?
Flavio Hirata – As happens every year, in the last months of the year, distributors sell products in greater quantities than the necessary demand, with the aim of reaching their sales targets.
Agrolink – What is the outlook for the coming months?
Flavio Hirata – Sales and deliveries of products are expected to increase taking into account summer planting.
See too: Agrochemicals: “Concentrated market suffocates competition”
Source: Agrolink
