Tecnoshow 2023 – Agrochemicals for peanuts reach $98 million in Brazil

Kynetec consultancy revealed to AgroPages that pesticides for peanut cultivation reached US$98 million in the 2022-23 cycle, up 28 percent compared to the 2021-2022 period ($77 million).

Kynetec's FarmTrak Peanut survey pointed out that product adoption had reached 100% in key segments.

″The number of applications rose 12%, and the total treated area (PAT) reached 7.9 million hectares,″ said Kynetec market analyst Raquel Ribeiro.

Regarding crops, the technological level of crops remained robust and boosted productivity to 3,975 kilograms per hectare (+6.5%), in the largest producing state, São Paulo.

According to FarmTrak, fungicides remain the most relevant agrochemicals for peanut protection: they represented 42% of the total, or $41 million.

Compared to the previous crop, says Raquel Ribeiro, there was an increase of around 21% in the category's financial result.

″This segment was driven by the control of the black spot (Pseudocercospora personata),″ Ribeiro, stated.

In the second place, with 38% of $37 million, insecticides advanced 29%, ″driven by the control of thrips (Enneothrips flavens) and the red-necked caterpillar (Stegasta grovella),″ Ribeiro summarized.

Herbicides accounted for 11% of the market for agrochemicals for peanuts or $11 million, with an increase of 50% compared to the previous harvest.

Seed treatment products, on the other hand, grew 34%, to $6 million, equivalent to 6% of the total traded in the crop in 2022-2023.

Ribeiro also emphasized that the cultivation of peanuts is an excellent option for crop rotation.

″Because it is a leguminous plant, peanuts act as a nitrogen fixer, improving soil fertility. However, its use in rotation transfers more yield to the harvest of subsequent crops,″ she explained.

PEANUTS IN NUMBERS

According to Kynetec's FarmTrak Peanut, peanut planting jumped from 200,000 hectares to 215,000 hectares (+7.4%) in the national territory. Around 90% of the cultivation areas are in São Paulo the company said.

According to Ribeiro, as in previous harvests, the good financial performance of pesticides in the crop is explained, above all, by the fact that the producer has sought more productivity through technological improvement.

″The farmer has also made important investments in the use of efficient seeds, in addition to agricultural equipment and implements in general,″ she said.

Producer disbursements in the harvest were also linked to the attractiveness of the foreign market. Brazil is the 13th largest producer and 7th country in the ranking of peanut exporters, she pointed out.

In 2022, around 285,000 tons of peanuts were exported, or 38% of total Brazilian production in 2021-2022 (747,000 tons), a volume 44% above that measured in the 2019-20 cycle (198,000 tons), she said in conclusion.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)