Newsletter AgriBrasilis - February 5th

Citrus Canker Threat in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Leonardo do Carmo is manager of plant health defense at the Minas Gerais Institute of Agriculture – IMA, coordinator of the Technical and Thematic Chamber of Agricultural Defense of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Minas Gerais, has a degree in agronomy and a M.Sc. in plant health defense from the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

Is citrus canker a threat to citrus farming in the State of Minas Gerais? What damage can this disease cause?

Due to the ease of spread, citrus canker is a major threat to citrus farming in the State of Minas Gerais. The greatest losses brought by this pest are the increase in the production costs, the restriction of trade and the losses of production, if there is no correct management.

How does the spread of the disease occur? Why can this process be so fast?

The spread of citrus canker occurs through winds, rain, contaminated tools, vehicles, contaminated seedlings, and even people. The process is fast due to the characteristic of the bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, which causes the disease. This bacterium has a “polar flagellum”, which facilitates its locomotion in a water depth, penetrating the plant through natural openings or wounds. The development of the disease occurs preferentially at temperatures of 25° to 30° C and high humidity, which happens mainly in the spring and summer seasons in the State of Minas Gerais.

(Access the full article on the AgriBrasilis website)

Media Partner Event: Confinement and Cattle Rearing Meeting from Scot Consultoria (April 09th to 12th, 2024 – Ribeirão Preto and Barretos, SP, Brazil)

"The time has come to orient yourself and strategize according to the changes in the market. In April, we have a meeting scheduled to talk about nutritional management and several other topics that are part of the universe of confinement and rearing." (Scot Consultoria)

Weekly Overview by AgriBrasilis (01/27 - 02/02)

Argentina:  2023/24 soybean harvest was estimated at 52.5 million tonnes. Estimated reduction from 55% to 44% in crops considered to be in good or excellent condition. Crops in medium or poor conditions increased from 2% to 8%. (Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange)

Beef exports from Argentina reached a record of 682 thousand tonnes in 2023, despite the retenciones [export taxes]. The amount is 7.7% higher than in 2022. “The deterioration in the purchasing power of the Argentine population reduces the ability to keep beef on the domestic market”, according to the director of the consulting firm HN AGRO, Hyberville Neto. (Secretary of Agriculture; HN Agro)

Brazil: Survey on “AgTechs” [agricultural startups] in Brazil and Latin America identified 977 active startups in the region, 809 of which were Brazilian. The companies operate mainly in the markets of biotechnology, backoffice [companies with an administrative focus, such as accounting or HR], livestock management, drones, etc. (Liga Ventures; HUB CNA Digital; Bunge)

4,761 family farmers from the State of Bahia will provide more than 8,500 tonnes of food through the Food Acquisition Program – PAA, in which the State buys food, without bidding, and allocates it to people in situations of food and nutritional insecurity and to those in need of social assistance, etc. Federal Government invested US$ 12.4 million for the PAA program in Bahia, through the National Supply Company. (MDS)

Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Minas Gerais has donated bean seeds to 12 thousand families that were harmed by drought in 2023, in 254 municipalities. “Each family receives a package with 10 kg of seeds and will be able to harvest about 600 kg of beans in their first harvest”, said Otávio Maia, president of the company. (EMATER-MG)

 Soybean harvest was estimated at 148.55 million tonnes, 7.3% lower than 2022/23, with an average yield estimated at 3.269 tonnes/ha. For corn, the estimate is 116.3 million tonnes, or 14.8% less than in 2022/23. Production was negatively impacted by the weather. (DATAGRO)

States of Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso concentrate approximately 92.5% of the agricultural area equipped with central pivots in Brazil, according to a report published by the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency. (ANA)

Crisis in the dairy market has accelerated the concentration of large-scale farmers. “We are changing the profile of milk farmers in Brazil. This process was already happening, and this crisis in 2022 and 2023 only increased the speed”, said Paulo do Carmo Martins, researcher at Embrapa. (Embrapa Dairy Cattle)

Colombia:  Coffee production reached 11.4 million 60 kg bags in 2023. The country maintained its position as the third largest producer in the world, after Brazil and Vietnam. According to Esteban Ordoñez, commercial manager at the National Federation of Coffee Farmers, approximately 40% of the coffee produced in the country is classified as conventional, while the remaining 60% has “some type of added value”. (FNC)

Costa Rica: Papaya production grew 48.3% in the last 10 years, with production of 135 thousand tonnes and yield of 56.8 tonnes/ha in 2023. (Ministry of Agriculture; SIAP)

Panama: Panama Canal Authority has reduced daily traffic by nearly 40% when compared to the same period of last year. Many ships have already been diverted to longer routes, which increases costs and carbon emissions. Global maritime transport company Maersk announced that it will move part of its cargo through land routes in Panama, via railways. (ACP; Maersk)

Paraguay: First Mercosur meeting under the presidency of Paraguay, represented by Ambassador Didier Olmedo, took place on January 24th, in Asunción. Among the priorities of the new administration is the need to advance the trade agreement with the European Union, in addition to promoting negotiations with the United Arab Emirates. The countries’ foreign ministers also committed to providing technical support in the process of incorporating Bolivia into Mercosur. (Mercosur)

Uruguay: Minister of Agriculture, Fernando Mattos, said that developed countries, which are mostly the ones responsible for climate change, should economically compensate developing countries, which are suffering the impacts of extreme weather phenomena. “Developed countries must provide the necessary resources to compensate developing countries that suffer the impacts of climate variability on their agricultural production”, said Mattos during his participation in the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, in Berlin, Germany. “Climate change also creates instability from an economic, social and even political point of view”. (Ministry of Agriculture)

Poultry Farming Exports Increased in 2023 in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Érico Pozzer is the president of the Associação Paulista de Avicultura (São Paulo Poultry Association) – APA and director of the Holambra Livestock Cooperative.

José Roberto Bottura is the technical director of APA and has a degree in veterinary medicine from São Paulo State University.

Arthur Rodrigo Ribeiro is a communications advisor at APA and has a degree in communication from the University of Sorocaba.

How does the egg production of Brazil and the State of São Paulo in 2023 compare to previous years? Were there any specific factors that drove the increase in production?

We observed that in 2022 the State of São Paulo produced 1.53 million tonnes of chicken meat. This production represents 11.9% of the national total, giving it the fourth position in the national ranking of broiler poultry.

São Paulo holds the title of the largest producer of commercial eggs in the country, reaching the mark of 16.3 billion eggs annually (44.7 million per day) and housing 31.1% of the commercial layers, totaling 58 million birds.

Poultry farming, a notoriously resilient sector, has faced significant challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic. This period has considerably increased production costs, especially in inputs that make up the most expensive portion of production, such as animal feed. In response to this situation, beef and laying farms have organized themselves to mitigate the adverse impacts.

(Access the full article on the AgriBrasilis website)

Agrochemical Update Brazil & Latin America – 01/31/2024

In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approved the toxicological evaluation of Acephate 970 g/kg SG from Solus do Brasil. (Anvisa)

State of Mato Grosso has a surplus of US$ 28.78 billion in the balance in 2023, due to the reduction in the state’s imports, mainly of fertilizers, with a decrease of 50.61% due to prices. (Imea)

Cocamar Cooperative inaugurates fertilizer industry in Paranavaí, State of Paraná, with an investment of US$ 1.27 million. (Cocamar Cooperativa Agroindustrial)

Production Cost Inflation Index indicated the highest deflation in the time series for the year 2023 in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, corresponding to -18.21%. This value is due to the low prices of chemical products and the exchange rate. (Federação da Agricultura do Rio Grande do Sul - Farsul)

Anvisa approved the toxicological evaluation of a new technical pesticide product (cinmethylina), with the active ingredient not yet registered in the country, from BASF. (Anvisa)

Alert of mealybug species (Pseudococcus) in conilon coffee farms in the north of the State of Espírito Santo and south of the State of Bahia. Researchers indicate that there have been no reports of this species in years. “We will intensify our research so that we can bring new results and strategies to control and combat this mealybug,” says Renan Batista Queiroz, a researcher at the Espírito Santo Institute of Research, Technical Assistance and Rural Extension. (Incaper)

DVA Agro invested US$ 2.4 million in a factory and research center in Indaiatuba city in the State of São Paulo, the first in Brazil with more than two thousand SQ to manufacture 10 million L/year of high-performance adjuvants.  “Products manufactured here will be exported to the other 53 countries in which we operate…”, says Natália Gonçalves, global director of research and development for the Adyuvia adjuvants. (DVA Agro)

Approved registration transfer of chlorimuron-ethyl, diflubenzuron, imidacloprid, tebuconazole, fipronil and lambda-cyhalothrin from the company HELM do Brasil to SM Agrocare Brasil. (MAPA)

ICL Group researcher says that the amino acid complex, and not its use alone, is more effective in controlling the abiotic stresses of the plants. “It is always preferable that foliar products are based on free amino acids (L-amino acids) and this combination with a diversity of amino acids with different functions in the plant’s metabolism, in addition to mitigating the effects of environmental stress, improving growth and enhancing crop productivity, is considered innovative and environmentally friendly”, emphasizes Karla Vilaça, the company’s Technical Development consultant. (ICL)

Lavoro registered a loss of US$ 14.5 million in the first half of the fiscal year 2024. According to the company, the main factor was the decrease in margins, which went from 20.8% to 12.3%. (Lavoro Agro)

Koppert is opening up a new unit, called Koppert Andina, based in Santiago, Chile, to serve the country and others, such as Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Initially, will be sold bioinputs manufactured at its headquarters in the Netherlands, and products from the two Brazilian factories will be sold in the future. The company’s plan is to invest, over five years, US$ 141.1 million in the factories in Brazil to accelerate the expansion of capacity and meet demand. (Koppert)

Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service has announced the end of the campaign to eradicate fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata) in the Andes. The campaign started in 2023, in the rural area of El Sauce and US$ 4.4 million was invested. (SAG)

Beekeepers protest in front of the presidential building in the city of Meoqui, Mexico, against the massive mortality of bees and ask for an immediate solution. The mortality rate varies between 80 and 100% depending on the case of each beekeeper, due to the application of chemicals in large quantities and indiscriminately in the region. (Meoquí Beekeepers Association)

New Government and the Demands of the Soybean Sector in Argentina

Rodolfo Luis Rossi is the president of the Argentine Soybean Chain Association – ACSOJA, and has a degree in agronomy from the University of Buenos Aires.

What are your expectations for the new government of Argentina?

Rodolfo Rossi – Most of us, citizens, were hoping for a change that would reverse the bad economic situation, something that the leaders of the last decades have failed to accomplish. The new president comes from outside of politics and with messages and promises that have captivated voters. Nowadays we have high expectations that the right measures will be taken to avoid a fiscal deficit and stabilize the macroeconomy by eliminating distorted taxes and market interventions in our sector.

(Access the full article on the AgriBrasilis website)