AgroPages-Syngenta projects higher billings in Brazil this year, says director for Latin America-Agricultural news

By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages

Syngenta's Brazil operation will lead the agricultural inputs market in sales in 2019, according to Valdemar Fischer, regional director for Latin America. The executive of Syngenta says that while the agrochemicals industry should grow by only "one digit" this year, Syngenta is expected to expand into "double digits."

According to Fischer, after a difficult 2017, in which the crop protection segment fell 7%, totaling US$ 8.9 billion, there was a reaction in 2018 and Syngenta's business in Latin America returned to levels considered "normal". Fisher estimates that sales of agrochemicals grew some 15 percent in Brazil in 2018.

Fischer noted that Syngenta maintained its leadership in the Brazilian market of pesticides, even with the merger of Monsanto with Bayer. The company's sales in Latin America totaled US$ 3.6 billion and, globally, US$ 13.5 billion in 2018. According to Fischer, Brazil accounted for approximately 20% of this total.

He points out that for 2018, changes in China's environmental policy significantly weighed down the industry, leading to a shortage of raw materials. "We had difficulty, but we managed to get around those effects. This year we will not be short of products. They will become more expensive, but there will be no shortage. We have priorities when receiving supplies. This should prevent their being a lack of raw materials for production. We expect 2019 to be the same. We do not need it to be better," Fischer explained during the Expodireto Fair held last week in the municipality of No-Me-Toque, state of Rio Grande do Sul.