Special fertilizers market grows 7,7% in 2019

The revenue of the Brazilian special fertilizers industry was R$7,1 billion in 2019, showing a growth of 7,7% compared to the previous year. The foliar fertilizers segment expanded by 6%, while organomineral fertilizers for soil increased by 19,5% and organic fertilizers for soil increased by 2,9%. The plant substrate market had 2019% higher revenue in 7 compared to 2018, with a 3% growth in volume sold.

In a virtual press conference held this Friday, July 31st, Clorialdo Roberto Levrero, president of the Deliberative Council of Abisolo – Brazilian Association of Technology in Plant Nutrition, commented that the growing adoption of technologies in plant nutrition is linked to the constant search for productivity by rural producers. “Our market has demonstrated its ability to meet the demands of the field, with quality and technical support. Furthermore, the average investment over the last five years of 4,4% in research and development contributes to the provision of efficient products,” he said.

In 2019, R$211 million were invested in R&D by the segment. Gustavo Branco, vice-president of the Deliberative Council of Abisolo, all this effort to contribute to R&D reinforces the sector's intention to continue innovating and developing appropriate technologies to subsidize the market in terms of productivity and quality. “Today, Brazil is increasingly taking a leading role in the adoption of new technologies,” he added.

For this year, the plant nutrition technology sector is expected to grow. “Based on the survey we carried out with our members, the majority are optimistic, with prospects for an increase this year. However, there are many factors to be interpreted to state an exact percentage of this increase”, pondered Branco.

The data is in Brazilian Yearbook of Technology in Plant Nutrition 2020, publication by Abisolo – Brazilian Association of Plant Nutrition Technology, which provides an x-ray of the sector and is considered a reference on the segment in the country.

Soybean cultivation remained the largest consumer in the sector, responsible for 49,6% of sales of foliar fertilizers, 30,2% of organomineral fertilizers for soil and 7,4% of organic fertilizers for soil. Coffee is also a crop with high rates of special fertilizer use, 29,4% for soil organics, 21,6% for soil organominerals and 8,2% for foliar.

However, the biggest percentage growth in the adoption of special fertilizers was in sugarcane. In 2019, this crop was responsible for 12% of revenue from organomineral fertilizers, 8,4% from foliar fertilizers and 7,4% from organic fertilizers.

Currently, there are 441 industries and importers of special fertilizers in operation, with 527 production units in 21 Brazilian states, with the State of São Paulo having 219 units.

According to the study, the product segments that showed the greatest growth have in their formulations, in addition to nutrients, amino acids, algae extracts and humic substances. In both foliar and soil application products, the percentage of sales with products containing amino acids, algae extracts and pure humic substances or as components of the formulation was 31,81% for leaf application and 31,73% % for soil application. This data, according to Abisolo executives, highlights the issue of greater use of biofertilizers, even if still in fractions.

The states that stand out most in the ranking of the use of special fertilizers are: São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. The state of São Paulo represents 25% of foliar fertilizers, 33% of organic soil fertilizers and 25% % of organomineral fertilizers for soil.

Regarding the way these fertilizers are sold, Abisolo showed that the distribution mix goes mainly through distributors (49,37% in foliar, 47,81% in organominerals for soil and 44,33% for organics for soil). But, specifically for foliar fertilizers, a percentage of 16,68% is sold B2B, that is, between industries. In organominerals for soil and organic minerals for soil, direct sales to rural producers are significant, with 36,47% and 44,62%, respectively.

Finally, the plant substrates market, with 45 active companies, grew 3% last year compared to the previous year, with revenues of R$220 million. In terms of volume, 550 thousand m³ were sold. In the case of the soil conditioner sector, also with 45 active companies, revenue reached R$90,7 million in 2019.