2020 Record registration numbers confirmed the highly promising growth potential of the Brazilian biocontrol market

By Maria Luiza Castro

Brazil is a country of a huge territory with abundant resources. Up for today according to Crop Life Brasil we have around 20 Million ha treated with Biological Products, growing 23% in 2020 when compared to 2019. The market around these products is not only being used to horticultural fruit, but also in big numbers with major crops as soybean, cotton, sugar cane and maize. 

At the very end of 2020, MAPA´s Act Nº70 (12/23/20) has confirmed the highly promising results for the biological control market for the next years with the final approval of the last 19 low toxicity products of the year, totaling 411 registered low toxicity  products due to government incentives, as in important tool to make the Brazilian agriculture much more sustainable.

Record-breaking 95 low impact pesticides registered in Brazil in 2020

Source: Brazil MAPA

Bioproducts growth projection into the Brazilian market stays around 15-20% a year reaching around 1 Billion Reais in 2020 (46% more than 2019).  Still a small number compared to billions of the Chemical Product markeg, but already a great growing future projection.

Among the most used Bioproducts in brazilian crop control are the Microbiological Products (vírus, bacteria, fungi) and Insects and Predators.  Also Semiochemical Products and Biochemical Products are included into the low toxicity group of products largely used together with the Biological Products into the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) System.

In Brazil Biocontrol Products are evaluated and registered, following the Pesticide´s Law, according to the environmental and human impacts, and agronomical efficacy as well.  Three differen Government Authorities share the responsabilibty of analysis, classification and registration of BioControl Products.  IBAMA, the Environmental Institute, ANVISA, The Health Agency and MAPA, the Agriculture Ministry.  Registration dossiers should be submitted at the same period of time to each one of these Authorities to be analyzed according to each one´s competence.

By following the conventional way to register Biocontrol product in Brazil, physical-chemical, ecotox and tox/pathogenicity GLP data as well as efficacy trials are expected on submission, to be evaluated by the government authorities.  Also, it´s always good to remember that in order to use the conventional registration, R.E.T Special Permit for reserarch and experimentaition is an obligatory pre-requirement.

Timelines for Product registration varies according to each product category from 12 untill 24 months, generally.

It is also important to mention that every company willing to register a product in Brazil have to have a Legal Entity stablished in the country or a host figuring as representative.

In order to keep track the development of legislation, the Brazilian government has lauched for Public Consultation in 2020 the update of the Joint Normative for Microbiological Products, in order to embrace and align with the Brazilian Biointrants National Program, published in May 2020, that gives a broather definiton to those products considering them any product, process or technology having a vegetal, animal or microbial orign, intended for direct use to manufacture, storing and processing of agribusiness products, such as: inoculants, plant growth promoters, biofertilizers, biocontrol products, etc. The  BNP Program intends to finance resources to the development of biofactories and other structures in Brazil, following the precepts of technological inovation that certainly will transform the country in one of the largest providers of agricultural products in the world.