Soaring prices spur agrochemical theft in Brazil grain belt

A spike in pesticide prices in Brazil, after a slump in the country's currency has spurred numerous thefts on farms in Mato Grosso, the country's top grain-producing state, stoking grower concern as the region's soy harvest begins in earnest.

The cases of agrochemical theft in Mato Grosso, mainly from on-farm storage rooms, jumped 82 percent in 2015, to 51 cases, from 28 in 2014, data from the state police compiled for Reuters showed.

The toll for the first weeks of 2016 is not yet available, but anecdotal reports of robberies are growing more frequent.

Agrochemical prices in the state jumped 30 percent in 2015, mirroring the Brazilian real currency's fall of about one-third against the dollar last year, according to Imea, a local farmeconomy research institute. Most pesticides in Brazil are imported.

Brazil's soy crop is quickly maturing, with fields already harvesting, so farmers need large amounts of pesticide onsite to combat weeds, fungus and insects.