Crop Protection South America Monthly Report

South America is an important and growing market in the global context of agrochemicals. In 2012, the sales value of agrochemicals in the Brazilian market was USD9.4 billion, an increase of 10.5% compared with 2011. The Brazilian agrochemical sector is optimistic with bumper crop in 2013. It's expected that the prices of corn and soybean will give growth to agrochemical business here in the country. Farmers know that they need to invest in agrochemicals to produce more and with higher quality.
 

In the context of South America, including new product launches, the South American countries showed several changes in the regulation of agrochemicals market, making stiffer or giving greater security to the market and its consumers through new practices of application or new evaluations of the effectiveness and toxicity of products already registered.
 

Furthermore, it was observed that there is a concern in decreasing the impact of the use of pesticides on the environment. The Chilean government, for example, is investing in the development of organic pesticides to protect citrus trees; Argentina follows the same scenario with the development of organic pesticides to protect the country's wine industry; whereas Brazil changed rules for aerial application of certain pesticides to protect bees.
In this sense, monitoring, not only of market situation, but also the perception of the final consumer about agrochemicals, since they have great influence in shaping policy, constitutes an important strategic tool in the introduction or evolution of these products in the regional market.