Pesticide-treated areas increase by 9.3% in first half of 2024 in Brazil

The first half of this year saw a significant expansion in pesticide-treated areas, with a 9.3% increase compared to the same period last year, totaling over one billion hectares. 

This is the result of a study commissioned by the National Union of the Plant Protection Products Industry (Sindiveg) from Kynetec Brazil.

In volume, the amount of pesticides used to control pests, diseases, and weeds grew by 8.3% from January to June of this year. When broken down by category, the most used pesticides in Brazil during the first six months of the year were herbicides (40%), followed by insecticides (28%), fungicides (24%), seed treatments (1%), and others (9%).

According to Sindiveg, the increase in pesticide use is linked to the positive development of the soybean crop and the climatic conditions Brazil faces. The study uses a methodology that projects market data in PAT (product per treated area), highlighting the volume used by farmers and the number of pesticide applications in the cultivated area, according to need.

When divided by crops, the PAT area is represented as follows: soybeans (31%), corn (31%), cotton (16%), pasture (7%), sugarcane (4%), wheat (3%), fruits and vegetables (1%), coffee (1%), citrus (1%), and others (1%).

In this context, the market value was US$8.8 billion, a 9% decrease compared to the first half of 2023, when it was $9.6 billion.

According to the Kynetec study for Sindiveg, the decline is attributed to increased production costs from crop losses caused by climate change — particularly in the second corn crop — and the growing impact of exchange rates, with a 3% increase in the same comparison.

The Brazilian states with the highest pesticide market value were Mato Grosso and Roraima (33%), São Paulo and Minas Gerais (18%), the BAMATOPIBA (Center-North) region (14%), Paraná (10%), Mato Grosso do Sul (8%), Goiás and the Federal District (8%), Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina (7%), and others (2%). In terms of PAT area, Mato Grosso and Roraima led with 37%, followed by BAMATOPIPA (17%), São Paulo and Minas Gerais (12%), Paraná (9%), Goiás and the Federal District (8%), Mato Grosso do Sul (8%), Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina (7%), and others (2%).

Soybean production in Brazil was the main driver for the increase in pesticide-treated areas between January and June 2024. ″Standing out among the main crops associated with the expansion of treated areas in the first half of 2024, Brazilian soybean production faced a significant increase in pests such as whitefly (+157%), caterpillars (+52%), and stink bugs (+22%),″ Sindiveg said in conclusion.

As the study highlighted, the challenging scenario required Brazilian farmers to use various pesticides, including protective fungicides (+56%) and premium fungicides (+35%).

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

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