Brazilian market for nematicides grows 10 times in 8 harvests

The Brazilian market for nematicides grew tenfold in eight harvests, according to the most recent FarmTrak study, by Kynetec consultancy, revealed exclusively to AgroPages.

According to the company, these inputs moved BRL1.6 billion in the 2021-2022 cycle, compared to BRL160 million in the 2014-2015 season.

Market intelligence analyst at Kynetec, Gabriel Pedroso, pointed out that soy accounted for 52% of business involving nematicides in the last harvest (BRL806 million), followed by sugarcane: 23% or BRL363 million. Corn, cotton, coffee, potatoes, and 14 other crops investigated, together, resulted in 25% of transactions, in the order of BRL400 million.

In the evaluation centered on the target areas of treatments, the coverage of nematicides jumped from 1.5 million hectares to 21 million hectares since the beginning of the historical series of the study – published for the first time in 2015 by the then consultancy Spark Smarter Decisions, recently -acquired by Kynetec.

Of this total, soybeans recorded the highest rate of the potential treated area (PAT) in the last harvest: 64% or approximately 13.4 million hectares. Corn and cotton appear in second position, with 13% or about 2.73 million hectares each (5.46 million hectares combined). Sugarcane producers treated 1.27 million hectares, equivalent to 6% of the PAT.

Regarding the adoption of products by farmers, FarmTrak found that in 2022 treatments reached 99% of areas cultivated with cotton, compared to 9% calculated in 2015. In soybeans, there was an increase from 2% to 24%, while in sugarcane sugar and corn, this ratio increased from 6% to 13% and 1% to 13%, respectively.

″Even crops with smaller planting areas have been treated with nematicides. He exemplifies that carrots, garlic, and potatoes had 76%, 67%, and 39% of the areas covered by at least one product application in 2022. Nematodes severely damage plant roots. Faced with potential losses, the producer chooses to invest in preventive management,″ Pedroso emphasized.

BIONEMATICIDES

Another expressive piece of data from the FarmTrak survey places bionematicides or biological nematicides at the forefront of the market. Such products moved R$1.2 billion, corresponding to 75% of the total market, against 25% (R$395 million) of the participation of chemical nematicides.

″However, it is important to highlight the fact that chemical tools also play an important role in the composition of management, which includes pesticide applications and other practices, including crop rotation and the use of pest-resistant varieties,″ Pedroso explained.

The Kynetec specialist also pointed out that, despite the survey having detected the incidence of nematodes in all national agricultural regions, farmers from the cerrado stood out in the survey in the position of leaders in the purchase of products to control the pest. ″They brought in 82% of the segment's revenue, or BRL1.3 billion. Almost half of this value (R$ 617 million) is concentrated in Mato Grosso,″ Pedroso said in conclusion. (US$1 = 5.27 BRL)

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)