Exclusive interview with Uruguay’s Tafirel: Innovating in response to changes, committed to sustainable agriculture

Corporate video of Tafirel   

As a leading importer and distributor of Agri-input products in Uruguay, Tafirel has witnessed the transformation of the market for more than 30 years, and has been constantly adapting its development ideas and innovative methods to meet the changing market and the needs of farmers. In an interview with AgroPages, Mr. Nicolas Potrie, Director of Tafirel, shared with us the development history of Tafirel and how the company adheres to its commitment to agriculture and farmers.

AgroPages: Please introduce the general development of Tafirel, including its history, main business, targeted clients, sales scale, and market position, etc.

Nicolas Potrie: Tafirel is a family-owned company, launched in Uruguay at the end of 1980's, for the research, development and formulation of products for protection and vegetal nutrition for the entire Southern Cone. 

Our commercial strategy in the countries where we currently have a presence has been to work together with the local distributor or producer in the region, adapting to achieve the most efficient and adequate solution for each crop.

This strategy, together with our rapid response to the problems detected, positions us as one of the leading companies in the phytosanitary products market.

AgroPages: What are Tafirel’s main product lines? How many products can your company offer to the market and can it customize solutions for farmers?

Nicolas Potrie: Year after year, the company has established and projected itself in the region, creating strong ties with manufacturers and producers of highly innovative molecules with a high impact on agriculture and the Latin American market.

The main development of its products is based on the agrochemical sector, mainly herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. For more than 10 years we have been working and launching products such as foliar fertilizers and biological products, which complement the line of chemical products.

Today, we offer more than 150 different molecules to farmers, both in Uruguay and Paraguay, as satisfactory solutions to their needs.

Rural producers today are accustomed to the efficient management of pests and weeds, and that is why they require us to be in permanent contact with the world's development centers to provide modern, efficient and environmentally- friendly products.

Undoubtedly, since the revolution agriculture has undergone in the last two decades, it is remarkable to note that our company has accompanied these changes and challenges constantly, in order to provide the producer with comprehensive solutions for the management of their crops.

AgroPages: Tafirel has offices in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, are they your main targeted markets? Which countries (region) does Tafirel offer services and products to?

Nicolas Potrie: Uruguay has been the company's development base, but in the early 2000s, it began to internationalize. Currently, Tafirel is present through its products in neighboring markets such as Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Peru.

For several years now, we have carved a niche in the phytosanitary market of Paraguay, where our products have been widely accepted by the farmers of that country. This makes us believe that we can soon explore new markets beyond Latin America.

AgroPages: What are the characteristics of the agrochemical market in Uruguay and who are the main players? What about the competitive landscape?

Nicolas Potrie: Uruguay is a very competitive market in terms of agrochemicals, so like most of the companies that have been working in the market for many years, we are also in constant search of new solutions for our end customers. They are the producers, who with their daily effort and the use of the best technology can reach greater efficiency and achieve the offer to export from the country. That letter of presentation of Uruguay to the world is very prestigious, in the most demanding markets in terms of agro-industrial products, such as grains (soybeans, rice, wheat, corn), dairy, meat, leather, and wood among others.

AgroPages: What is the crop planting structure in Uruguay? What are the major products that are used on these crops? What is the level Uruguay farmers are at in terms of crop protection concepts and the practice of application of agrochemicals? What are the main challenges facing farmers and agrochemical distributors?

Nicolas Potrie: Uruguay is a purely agricultural and livestock farming country where 16 million hectares are covered by forestry, agriculture and natural grasslands. About two million hectares are covered with natural and artificial forests.

There are four million hectares used for agriculture, where there are very important rotations of extensive crops such as soybeans, wheat, barley, corn and rice. Many of the crops are rotated with artificial pastures.

In this pasture system, artificial, improved or natural, very little is done in terms of agrochemical treatments.

Tafirel prepares and trains specialized technicians in this area, to incorporate the best non-polluting or proven biological pesticides.

We are incorporating new biological systems, so there will soon be novelties in their application with proven success.

The best results have been obtained with rotations that have generated great advantages in production, conservation and soil improvement.

AgroPages: Where does Tafirel purchase products? In the context of the global pandemic, how does one manage a supply chain to ensure the normal operation of your company?

Nicolas Potrie: Tafirel has a long history with major crop protection manufacturers in the world, mainly from China and India. It has been a pioneer in the development of generic molecules for crops of wide extension in Uruguay and Paraguay.

We have the invaluable support of the producers, with a great relationship of years that has motivated our commitment to the sustainability of the industry in terms of efficiency and high production, accompanied by the lowest levels of contamination. We work hard to maintain these high standards to continue innovating new products for the farmer's service.

We are members of the Binational Chamber of Commerce Uruguay China (CCUCH), in which we promote our country to the largest supplier of phytosanitary products in the world, which is the Asian giant, China.

We are also part of the National Chamber of Fertilizers and Phytosanitary Products (CANAFFI), which has as one of its main objectives the promotion of the responsible use of fertilizers and phytosanitary products, thus providing solutions to the agricultural sector with environmentally friendly products.

Concerning the good practices associated with environmental care, Tafirel is a member of the CampoLimpio Civil Association, which brings together companies that import and formulate phytosanitary products. It promotes and carries out a National Management Plan for the final destination of containers, using the practice of "Triple Washing" in the field, for their subsequent authorized reuse-recycling.

In the same line, Tafirel is a company adhering to the Plan for the Safe Disposal of Post-consumer Medicine Packaging Waste (PLESEM) within the framework of the National Chamber of Commerce, dedicated to the management of packaging waste discarded by end-users, in an environmentally safe manner.

AgroPages: What are your company's development plans and goals?

Nicolas Potrie: One of our main objectives is to always keep improving from harvest to harvest, as a company and as a human group. We have been recognized with the ISO 9001 Quality Management System certifications, as well as the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, and we are in the process of obtaining the UNIT-ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certifications.

This certification is very important for the awareness of the work of the entire team, which, in times of difficulty and global pandemic, such as SARS COVID-19, which we are experiencing today, means a greater commitment to safety measures, as well as the health of our workers and end customers.

We are also very committed to sustainable agriculture and, beyond the development of new biological products, we have also decided to strengthen our ties with the different associations and chambers mentioned above, to raise awareness of the responsible use of pesticides, applicators and the communities that make up the entire society and the agricultural community.

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Have interests in doing an interview like this, please contact the author.

Christina Xie

christina@agropages.com