Brazil agchem sales recorded US$ 2.7 billion in H1 2015

The agrochemical sales summed US$ 2.7 billion in the first half of the year in Brazil, according to data released by the National Union of Plant Protection Industries (Sindiveg). The result represents a fall of 25% compared to the same period of 2014.

According to Sindiveg, there are several motives for the fall. First, higher temperatures and prolonged droughts diminished the level of infestation of plagues over the crops. Secondly, the historic devaluation of the Real against the U.S. dollar discouraged the imports of products. The third reason for the fall on sales was the big stock that farmers as well as distributors already had.

"As there was a lower infestation than expected at the last crop, farmers stocked, mainly with herbicides and insecticides. Without the need to apply pesticides in the field, the farmers usually not to invest in technology and the distribution channels do not need to replenish their shops," explained Sindiveg vice-president, Silvia de Toledo Fagnani.

Fagnani cited yet a fourth factor: the difficulty to access loans, "which has led farmers to wait for the right moment to make their purchases." "Credit, which has still come slowly to the markets, a lot lower comparing to 2014, and the issue of producers adapting to the new soybean prices, also affecting the agrochemical sector," she affirms.

With the performance observed so far, Sindiveg projects a "flat year with modest growth, because 2015 will be marked by the adjustments at the industry in a year of economic crisis".