Multisite fungicides surge 200% in 4 soybean crops in Brazil

The FarmTrak Soy study by Kynetec Brasil consultancy, to which AgroPages had firsthand access, revealed that the market for "multisite" or contact protection fungicides had advanced by 218% over four soybean crops in Brazil. 

According to this survey, transactions involving these products increased by 218%, from BRL1.2 billion to BRL3.8 billion, between the 2018-19 and 2022-23 seasons.

According to market analysts, the surge is explained by the growing concern of producers in controlling Asian rust and other economically relevant soybean diseases. The adoption of multisites reached nearly 80% of the planted soybean area in the 2022-23 season, an indicator that was 5% in the 2014-15 cycle and 44% in the 2018-19 period.

"The research records the consolidation of the subsegment. Multisites are now on the list of strategic inputs for soybean farming," summarized Lucas Alves, an accounts manager at the consultancy. The fungicide category as a whole, however, fell to second position in value: BRL18.9 billion or 33% of the oilseed pesticide market, which totaled around BRL57 billion. 

"For the first time in the historical series, herbicides led sales, with BRL20 billion or 36% of the total," he said.

According to the executive, however, this ranking change is not expected to persist: "The expectation is that fungicides will regain the lead. Herbicides had a higher performance, mainly due to price increases and restrictions observed in the recent supply of certain products."

"Foliar fungicides historically represent approximately 40% of pesticide sales for soybeans, while herbicides are around 22%," continued the Kynetec executive. According to the consultancy, herbicide prices are expected to return to the same levels as previous crops in the 2023-24 cycle.

Lucas Alves emphasized that in recent crops, the foliar fungicide segment, specifically multisites, had grown significantly because producers had intensified the adoption of such inputs in strategies to control Asian rust, and in resistance management practices. 

He explained that applications of different active ingredients are alternated to prevent pathogens causing diseases from developing resistance to fungicides. "The use of multisites usually occurs in conjunction with systemic fungicides, such as carboxamides, strobilurins, and triazoles," Alves pointed out. 

The entry of ready-mix products, formulated in the factory and simultaneously endowed with systemic and multisite properties, ″products based on mancozeb, chlorothalonil, copper, and other compounds,″ also influenced the growth of multisite sales.

According to Lucas Alves, the ready mix accounted for 40% of the multisite fungicide market in the 2022-23 season: BRL1.52 billion. "In the treated area (PAT), products with systemic and multisite concentration still have less representativeness than the rest of the segment, but they deliver the benefit of dispensing tank mixes," he observed.

Alves also added that the FarmTrak Soy 2022-23 highlighted the trend of producers intensifying control of other soybean diseases in the coming crops, previously considered secondary. 

"Rust remains a priority, but soybean farmers are increasingly looking at the 'disease complex,' including target spot in the Cerrado and powdery mildew in the South, as well as, more recently, soybean anomalies," he exemplified.

FarmTrak Soy 2022-23 resulted from 3,700 personal interviews with soybean farmers in the central oilseed-producing regions. From January next year, the consultancy returns to the field to update the survey, focusing on the 2023-24 crop.

"The next study will bring relevant information related to climatic extremes observed in the producing regions due to the El Niño phenomenon: extreme heat, heavy rains, and irregular rains, for example, situations that directly interfere with the producer's management dynamics," Alves anticipated.

André Dias, Kynetec's leader for Latin America, reinforced that FarmTrak Soy 2023-24 should be ready in May next year. "It will cover the main producing regions, from Rio Grande do Sul to Pará, and will represent 97% of the total soybean area cultivated in the national territory," the executive advanced.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

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