The participation of Australian-American AgBiTech in the movement of biologicals for soybean caterpillars reached 17% of the category's sales, worth US$ 18 million, in the 2019/20 harvest. The result elevated the company to the status of a player in the segment, and at the same time made it the leader in the baculovirus market for oilseeds. The data is from Spark Consultoria Estratégica. In the same period, combined, AgBiTech products for soybean caterpillars and other crops, according to the company, reached two million hectares treated, growing more than 200% in relation to the 600 thousand hectares of the 2017-18 cycle, when the brand made its commercial debut.
According to Spark, last harvest the total market for insecticides for caterpillars, including chemical products, fell 5% in value to US$480 million. There was also a 6% drop in treated area, to 64,6 million hectares. Contrary to the market, sales of bionseticides for soybean caterpillars grew 28% compared to the 2018-19 cycle. In treated area, in the same period, they jumped 19%, to 1,7 million hectares.
Spark data anticipates a strong trend of continued advancement in the organic market, as adherence to inputs reached 21% of farmers, in the areas analyzed by the consultancy, in the 2019-20 harvest. Industry projections also indicate that in an estimated period of between five and ten years, biological insecticides will account for around 20% (US$150 million) of insecticide sales (total market), currently around US$900 million.
The performance achieved by the company in Brazil led the company's controlling fund, Paine Schwartz Partners (PSP), to choose the country as its main key market. Brazilian executive Adriano Vilas Boas is now heading AgBiTech's business strategy. Until last June, he was the CEO for Latin America, and has just assumed the role of Global CEO.
Outside of Brazil, says Vilas Boas, AgBiTech will seek growth in consolidated markets, such as the United States and Australia, and also in regions considered emerging, such as African countries and areas of Paraguay, in the latter due to the accelerated expansion of soybean farming .
AgBiTech also promoted changes in the company's leadership at the local level, with the promotion of agronomist Marcelo Giuliano to the business and sales directorship and the hiring of agronomist Murilo Moreira, who took over this month as the marketing director. The directorate of finance and operations in Brazil was recently handed over to executive Eduardo Lopes.
According to Giuliano, for the next harvest AgBiTech will once again reinforce its portfolio of bioinsecticide solutions. According to the executive, through the signing of an agreement with the startup Tarvos, from Campinas (SP), the company will also begin to operate in the caterpillar monitoring market.
Tarvos, as explained by its partner Andrei Grespan, developed a system of 'traps' that makes it possible to count 'moths' per square meter. “Using satellite, the model does not require connectivity to work accurately on properties in the country’s corners”, summarizes Murilo Moreira, from AgBiTech.
Moreira adds that the AgBiTech-Tarvos system will reduce costs, in the range of 20% to 40%, in treatments to control caterpillars, including reducing the use of chemical products. “This technology makes it possible to control caterpillars on soybeans and other crops solely through the use of bioinsecticides, transferring efficiency and sustainability to management.”
Other new features from the company for the 2020-21 harvest, according to Giuliano, will be the launch of the Lepigen and Cartugen products, to control caterpillars in Intacta soybeans and corn, respectively. Considered revolutionary by researchers, AgBiTech's baculoviruses act on so-called problem caterpillars, mainly from the genera Helicoverpa and Heliothis, Spodoptera frugiperda, Spodoptera eridania and Chrysodeixis includens.
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