Pesticides cost for soybean up 60.4% in Mato Grosso 2014-15 season

The pesticides costs for the soybean crop jumped 60.4% during the 2014/2015 season comparing to the previous year in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. The cost of these chemicals increased from R$ 442.33 to R$ 709.54 per hectare. Therefore, the final production cost per hectare in this state soared 8.58%, according to the survey of the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics. Inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and agrochemicals represent 63.2% of the total costs of this year's crop.

 

Farmers from Mato Grosso, the soybean producing state in Brazil, pay an average of R$ 2,518 in this cycle to plant one hectare of conventional beans, while this average was R$ 2,319 in 2013/2014. The higher value of the dollar is pointed as the main factor for inflation in the field. The American currency has jumped from R$ 2.27 to R$ 2.55.

 

Adding all the inputs for soybean production (seeds, fertilizers and agrochemicals), the cost lifted from R$ 1,230 to R$ 1,593 per hecatre - an increase of 29.5%. The seeds contributed for a high jump from R$ 178.41 to R$ 209.18 (17.2%) and the fertilizers increased from R$ 609.60 to R$ 674.80 per hectare (10.6% increase).

 

The increased soybean planting area of 5.1% is another point that increase the production cost, given the necessity of investments on soil corrections and maintenance of new areas. The state of Mato Grosso planted 21.9 million hectares of soybeans in the current seas