By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages
At a meeting of the Executive Management Committee (GECEX) of the Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex), on September 25, a request was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) to withdraw the import tax of 8% for insecticides formulated from the active ingredients bendiocarb, bifenthrin, chlorfenapyr, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, etofenprox, fenitrothion, lambda-cyhalothrin, malathion, pirimiphos-methyl and propoxur.
The reduction will be possible due to the inclusion in the Mercosur Common External Tariff Exemption List (Letec) of the code NCM 3808.69.90 and should benefit the equivalent of 22% of Brazilian imports of agricultural insecticides, based upon 2017 imports.
Pesticides with these active ingredients are widely used in the cultivation of soybeans and corn, and also in crops, such as rice, peanuts, potatoes, sugarcane, onions, citrus, beans, sunflower, forage palm, pasture, cucumber, sorghum, tomato and wheat.
The reduction was requested as a matter of urgency, due to the beginning of the harvest period when there is a greater demand for agricultural pesticides. Of the Brazilian consumption of insecticides classified in these tariff codes, about 60% were imported, on average, during the last six years.