FMC Reveals Insights on Biologicals Market Growth in Latin America

Editor’s Note: The biological market in Latin America is one of the fastest developing sectors in the agricultural input industry. Brazil is the largest market for biologicals in Latin America, with more than 500 biological products having been registered.

Farmers in Latin America are actively seeking biological solutions for pest and disease management, nutrient supplementation, and soil health improvement. Additionally, governments in Latin America are implementing incentive programs and regulatory changes to encourage the adoption of biological inputs in agriculture. These initiatives provide valuable support and incentives for farmers, leading to market growth and greater acceptance of agricultural biologicals.

Considerable development potential is attracting the attention of all biological product manufacturers and distributors worldwide, who are accelerating the business layout of new technologies, new products and new applications related to biologicals.

Accordingly, AgroPages recently invited some key players in this field to share their insights. In this article, Bénédicte Flambard, Vice President, Global Plant Health, FMC Corporation shared her views over the market landscape of the biological market in Latin America, the layout, application, regulation of biologicals, opportunities and challenges for biologicals, as well as the plans to launch new biologicals in Latin America and more.

Could you describe the market landscape of the biological market in Latin America? What are the drivers, challenges and trends of the development of biologicals in this region?

Bénédicte Flambard: The biological market in Latin America is growing at one of the fastest rates globally, with an estimated market value of $1.4 billion in 2021 and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% for the next ten years. According to the Agricultural Biologicals Market Report 2022, it is second only to the Asia Pacific region.

Brazil is the largest market for biologicals in Latin America, with an estimated $850 million market. Brazil has dominated the world for the past decade since the first bionematicide product introduction, a segment that today accounts for more than 30% of the total Brazilian biological market.  ″On-farm″ production is a trend in Latin America, especially Brazil, where it represents more than 15% of the entire country’s biological market.

The Latin America market is characterized by strong adoption of biologicals, particularly biostimulants, reaching 30% in row crops and up to 60% in fruits and vegetables (F&V). Row crops such as sugarcane, corn, soybean and cotton are the predominant markets in Brazil and Argentina. In contrast, the use of biologicals in Mexico, Chile and Peru is primarily on fruits and vegetable crops.

Regulation is a driver of the development of biologicals in this region. Regulations against the use of synthetic pesticides and residue levels in food have increased the use of biologicals by Latin American farmers. Another key market driver is the favorable regulatory environment for biologicals in many Latin American countries. Therefore, the past two decades have been marked by a dynamic competitive landscape, with foreign companies rapidly entering the market. The acquisition of local biological companies and funding of new startups has further shaped the market positively.

The dynamic ecosystem has facilitated the introduction of new, certified technologies and helped to counter the negative reputation of biologicals as being of sub-standard quality. As a result, the confidence in their performance is steadily increasing. This manifests in the increased adoption of biologicals as partner products to synthetics by growers looking to alternate between conventional and biological products.

Could you talk about the regulatory landscape of biologicals in Latin America? What impact do these regulations have on your company’s business?

Bénédicte Flambard: The registration processes in Latin America are country-dependent; hence, local regulatory networks and knowledge are required to navigate each country.

Brazil tends to have the most favorable regulatory environment with significantly shorter approval timelines than other countries. Therefore, the Brazil biological market has attracted numerous companies, contributing to a diverse portfolio of available technologies. In contrast, Argentina authorizes biological products based on regulatory requirements and timelines of conventional pesticides, even though data waivers are acceptable. In the F&V-growing regions of Mexico and Chile, new regulations are being developed with proportionate data requirements for the authorization of biological products. However, the evaluation timelines still need to be improved for the quick introduction of biologicals.

The favorable regulatory environment in Brazil has made it a model market for FMC’s biological products in terms of introducing new technologies and product concepts, allowing positioning testing ahead of global expansion. FMC launched its first bionematicide in Brazil in 2014, paving the way for Quartzo^® bionematicide for in-furrow application and Presence^® bionematicide for seed treatment in 2017. This was influential in the launch of two new biofungicide/bionematicide products in the United States – Zironar™ biofungicide/bionematicide for in-furrow application and Avodigen^® biofungicide/bionematicide for seed treatment.

Additionally, the regulatory landscape creates an opportunity to establish active field research and product development programs tailored for the Latin America market, which serve as knowledge platforms for the rest of the world. Current examples are FMC’s pheromone programs in Brazil and Mexico. These programs are generating performance data for integrating mating disruption pheromones in an IPM program with synthetics and precision agriculture.

Finally, the favorable ecosystem in Brazil allows FMC to promote innovation and knowledge exchange by capitalizing and investing in multiple private and public partnerships across Latin America, including university programs and public and private research institutions such as Embrapa, State University of Londrina (UEL), State University of São Paulo (Unesp), Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC).

Could you give us an overview of your company's biologicals and their special features, application situation in Latin America? Could you share some novel approaches to production and formulation of biologicals?

Bénédicte Flambard:  FMC’s biological portfolio in Latin America is strong in the row crop segments. The primary market is Brazil, where FMC is a leader in the bionematicides segment for sugarcane. In 2019, FMC expanded to Colombia with Alicerce™ biofertilizer and now has products available across the region.

In Brazil, the award-winning Quartzo^® bionematicide has become a reference point for quality and performance. Quartzo^® is used together with Seed+™ biostimulant as part of the Gennesis Program. The Gennesis Program integrates biologicals and synthetics to protect sugarcane against pests and diseases. With field results showing yield increases of over 10% in sugarcane, FMC is now launching the Gennesis Program for soybean in Brazil with Presence^® Full bionematicide, Ataplan^® biofungicide, Seed+CoMo™ biostimulant and Premio^® insect control. The Gennesis program is an excellent example of how FMC increasingly develops formulations and technologies suitable for integrated crop management.

In Mexico, FMC has a strong portfolio of biostimulants in the F&V segments, featuring Auxigro™ Stymulus^® Maxx and RhizoMagic™. The biopesticide portfolio is based on bacillus technologies such as Astuto^® bioinsecticide and Fungifree™ AB biofungicide, as well as botanical extracts including Reliant^® biofungicide/bactericide.

FMC has an active development pipeline with new product launches planned for as early as next year.

What are the considerations for farmers/growers to use biologicals? How does your company educate growers and farmers on the use of biologicals?

Bénédicte Flambard:  Growers must be well-informed and educated on the technical aspects of biologicals – their mode of action, target pests and the appropriate application timing. Additionally, it’s vital to help growers understand how to integrate biologicals into existing pest management practices to optimize their impact.

FMC addresses these challenges at multiple levels. We offer integrated solutions to ensure that growers can maximize the performance of biologicals in combination with synthetics and precision agriculture technologies. With a focus on customer-centricity, we provide comprehensive training on our products and technical solutions, coupled with customized demonstrations. We also build confidence in biologicals by re-enforcing the position and essence of our ″Biologicals by FMC″ brand. This brand signifies product quality and performance backed by science. Through transparent communication and evidence-based information, we aim to help growers make well-informed choices aligned with their specific agricultural needs and practices.

What and where are the biggest opportunities and challenges for biologicals in Latin America?

Bénédicte Flambard:  One of the most significant challenges for biologicals overall is grower skepticism about the efficacy of biologicals. This is still true in Latin America, although perceptions are shifting. This distrust is compounded by challenging logistics posed by the region's climate and vast distances, which can adversely impact product quality. The consistent performance of biologicals relies heavily on a controlled supply chain and technical formulation attributes – two aspects that ″on-farm″ production was expected to address. Still, they continue to pose challenges for many farms.

The opportunities for biologicals are vast. Biologicals can contribute to addressing challenges caused by land use change, degradation and deforestation through soil restoration, erosion control and enhanced climate change resilience. Poor soils in Brazil and other arid countries such as Peru and Mexico respond well to biologicals, especially biostimulants and related abiotic stress-alleviating products. An emerging trend of government incentives given to growers to improve soil health and fertility will become one of the most important forces for the future of biologicals if extended across Latin America.

What are the plans to launch new biologicals in Latin America? Highlight the development plan in Latin America.

Bénédicte Flambard:  FMC is actively launching new products in Latin America as it continues to be an important growth region. Our biological portfolio is becoming more innovative and complete with new biostimulants, biofungicides, bionematicides and pheromones to complement our extensive synthetic technologies.

Forenia^® biofungicide is expected to launch in Brazil in 2023. Provilar^® biofungicide, originally launched in Brazil in 2022, has been registered for use on additional fungal diseases. Its differentiated positioning is receiving positive market feedback and will soon be available in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Peru under different brand names.

FMC is introducing three new multi-targeted products in the bionematicide segment, including Catulia™ bionematicide/biofungicide in Peru and Ecuador; Isavia™ bionematicide/biofungicide in Chile, with a different brand name in Argentina; and Tulinia^® bionematicide/bioinsecticide featuring a new active microorganism strain in Mexico expected in 2025.

In Brazil, Presence^® bionematicide for seed treatment is being replaced by Presence^® Full bionematicide for seed treatment as well as in-furrow application.

Finally, we are launching several biostimulants, including RhizoMagic™ and Furavia™ in Chile and Auxigro™ in Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Growers in Latin America are technologically advanced, but like growers worldwide, they require a high degree of trust and testing before adopting new technology in their farm operations. FMC is proud to work with growers in the region to help solve their crop protection challenges.

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