HELM Brazil announces entry into plant nutrition market

Multinational company HELM, a traditional manufacturer of pesticides, has announced its entry into the Brazilian crop nutrition market by establishing a unit for plant nutrition and bio-stimulants.

Within this new area, the launch of two products is already planned. The first is SCYON, an inorganic N-P-K fertilizer solution developed for soybeans. According to HELM, the product contains six natural metabolites in a potassium complex designed to support overall plant health and help reduce abiotic and biotic stress under adverse conditions.

The second release from HELM's Crop Nutrition division is CALFIT, developed for Hortifruti cultivation covering potato, grape, and apple crops.

″Despite its potential, the plant nutrition and bio-stimulant market in Brazil is still fragmented and not well-consolidated. What we are bringing is stability and trust with all the know-how of HELM, a family-owned company that has been in existence for 123 years and will continue for more generations,″ said Sebastian Lüth, Vice President of Crop Protection in Brazil.

Fabio Del Cistia, HELM's Director of Marketing and Portfolio, said that three more products with patented technologies based on metabolites and micronutrients will be launched in the Brazilian market over the next three years, which aim to strengthen the company’s portfolio and assist farmers in increasing productivity.

Furthermore, HELM aims to enter the fastest-growing market in Brazil, which is the plant nutrition and bio-stimulants market within the agricultural inputs sector. ″We are defining entry into a portfolio of more sophisticated, differentiated products with higher added value. In addition to better technology, we will offer solutions for farmers from planting to harvest,″ Del Cistia added.

To enter this competitive market, HELM relies on the expertise of agronomist Emerson Alexandre Oliveira, one of the leading specialists in special fertilizers, bio-stimulants, adjuvants, and biopesticides. With more than 25 years of experience and a background in major agricultural input groups, especially in special fertilizers, Oliveira will become the Director of the Crop Nutrition area.

″This sector is growing much faster than conventional pesticides and fertilizers. It closed 2022 with a turnover of BRL16.6 billion (data from Abisolo, the Brazilian Association of Technology Industries in Plant Nutrition),″ Oliveira said, adding that, on average, the growth rate over four years is around 33% in Brazil.

Oliveira explained that, until now, HELM’s business in Brazil has focused on agricultural pesticides and industrial chemicals. ″Now, it will have a line of special fertilizers in the country, including micro and macronutrients, bio-stimulants, and biopesticides, which will be integrated into the technological offering of Crop Solution from HELM in Brazil, along with pesticides and the digital platform, SKYFLD (Crop Protection/Crop Nutrition/Digital),″ he said.

To develop the new unit, HELM has partnered with Unium Bioscience, a British company specializing in scientific innovation in the biological industry, bio-stimulants, special fertilizers, and alternative crop protection. The agreement grants HELM the rights to market Unium's technologies in Brazil and other Latin American countries. ″These are innovative technologies that will add a lot to the market,″ Oliveira further said.

HELM will form a dedicated and integrated team to operate in the new unit within its commercial structure. ″We have observed that the plant nutrition market requires high levels of quality, reliability, service, and support. Therefore, a specialized and knowledgeable team is being assembled, consisting of agronomic engineers who can bring technology to the market, contributing to the dissemination of this knowledge in the field,″ he further added.

In addition to products from this partnership, other innovations are expected to be launched, creating a complete technological offering for plant nutrition, combined with the plant defense area.

Lüth stressed that the company is working on the market research and technical positioning of its products while providing technical assistance to rural producers, to ensure that they can use and make the most of these technologies.

″Emerson has created this type of project in several companies. We, therefore, want to stress that we are entering this market to lead,″ he said in conclusion.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)