Brazil: Top 10 AIs and How Re-Evaluations Will Impact Major Chemistries

Posted on 2021-02-04
Phytosanitary products are developed to help control diseases, pests, and harmful herbs that affect crops and that, depending on the climatic conditions, could manifest themselves with greater intensity.
In general, the countries that are in the intertropical zone, (which is the strip that surrounds the Ecuador, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) suffer a more intense attack on crops due to the tropical climate. That is the typical warm climate in this area, in a band that surrounds the equator from 23 degrees north latitude to 29 degrees latitude, so the products used here may not be as necessary in countries where climatic conditions, such as a severe winter, and helps control the attack of pests and diseases due to this condition.
 
For this reason, it is found that the lack of demand of certain AIs is related to the lack of commercial interest, causing the product to be excluded or even not registered.
Therefore, marketing a phytosanitary product that is not used in a particular country is not necessarily an indication of a lack of rigor on the part of the governments that register them.
Phytosanitary products are mainly banned from the market because they pose a risk to the environment and human health. The alternatives to phytosanitary products that have been banned are analyzed from a broader perspective than the mere substitution of one product for another, since it depends on the new alternatives available to generate a control strategy in a holistic way that includes not only the phytosanitary products, but also the review of cultural practices for crop management, fertilization, and the use of other additional tools such as biological controls and organic products that are taking a high relevance in agricultural markets.
To replace the lost active ingredients, a different consumption of other products is generated as retailers and farmers encounter these problems in the field, to control them they must use more specific and latest generation products. Previously, for example, there were very low-cost, broad-spectrum insecticidal products of which a single application was made and controlled the vast majority of problems in the crop. Now, these products have been replaced by new, more effective active ingredients that provide greater safety when applied.
In the American continent, Brazil is the second consumer country of phytosanitary products after the U.S., according to FAO Pesticides for Agricultural Use data, 2018. In 2019, 165 companies holding the registry of chemical and biochemical pesticide products reported toIBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis ​​- 2019) the total sale of chemical and biochemical formulated products increased to 620,538 tons of active ingredients, which represents an increase of 12.97% in national sales compared to 2018.
In the reports of formulated products (FP) received by IBAMA, 315 active ingredients (chemical and biochemical) were identified, of which the sum of sales in the domestic market of 89 active ingredients corresponded to 563,460 tons of active ingredients, which represents 90.80% of the total value of national sales in the country. The increase in domestic sales of pesticide products may be related to the large national agricultural production. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 2019 had a record year in the agricultural harvest, mainly grains.
In 2019, the most commercialized pesticides were those formulated based on the active ingredients: glyphosate; 2,4-D; mancozeb; acephate; atrazine; chlorothalonil; paraquat dichloride; malathion; sulfur; and chlorpyrifos.
Of the 10 active ingredients most used in Brazil, three are prohibited in the European Union (acephate, atrazine, and paraquat), but they are authorized for use in the U.S., Japan, China, and other Mercosur countries. In addition to the prohibition or authorization of use, there are other differences in regulation. Among these, there are variations in the maximum residue limits allowed in food.
To use a pesticide in Brazil, it is necessary that it be registered in the country, a process that since 1989 has to be carried out with three federal government agencies: MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply), with regard to agronomic efficiency and safety; Ministry of Health through ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency), with regard to public health, whether occupational risk or risk for consumers; and the Ministry of the Environment through IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), regarding environmental impact, the application must contain evidence that demonstrates the safety of the agrochemical, as well as studies of environmental and human impacts.
In Brazil, the registration of organic products marked a milestone in that country because until November 2020, around 76 new formulations are part of the control of pests and diseases in crops, in addition to ensuring greater development of plantations.
In Latin America, there are several free-trade agreements that allow exchange between the countries of the region and among their main objectives are to:
  • eliminate barriers that affect or reduce trade between the areas that sign the agreement, and promote the conditions for fair competition;
  • increase investment opportunities;
  • provide adequate protection for intellectual property rights;
  • establish effective processes to stimulate national production and healthy competition; and
  • offer a solution to disputes.
Brazil is in the Mercosur group that have trade agreements in Latin America with Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
One of the key points in inter-regional exchange is that of the maximum residue limits (MRLs), for which the efforts made by the member countries of these regional initiatives and the competent observer organizations to regularly facilitate updated information on its harmonization and other collaborative activities in relation to MRLs, this in order to improve harmonization with Codex MRLs and, where appropriate, with regional MRLs, in order to facilitate trade in agricultural products.
Currently, non-tariff barriers are considered the most important challenge, for example, in the international trade of fruit and vegetables. Companies interested in accessing new markets or consolidating existing ones must comply with rigorous quality standards, safe food production, admissibility requirements, etc. Due to quarantine restrictions, destination countries have prepared lists of products whose admissibility could be restricted or prohibited, as the case may be. (IICA 1997)
Regarding the re-evaluation of the records of chemical products in Brazil, the new re-evaluation cycle of ANVISA in Brazil, includes seven active ingredients that according to Anvisa itself, the prohibition of some of these ingredients in the EU or the U.S. it is not necessarily motivated by health risks. Environmental reasons may also be involved, the agency added.
AIs Phytosanitary Products ANVISA
Source: ANVISA
 
ANVISA of Brazil ratified the decision to ban the active ingredient paraquat, which would take effect from Sept. 22, 2020, in accordance with the rules of the Board of Directors’ Resolution (RDC) 177/2017. As a result, the herbicide cannot be produced in the country and the import of this active ingredient will also be prohibited. The decision was made during the 18th Meeting of the Collegiate Board held on March 15, 2020.
Based on the latest news, the EU governments have agreed to ban mancozeb, one of the most important, broad-spectrum protectant fungicides widely used in almost all crops to control a great variety of diseases.

 

From AgriBusiness Global  website    https://www.agribusinessglobal.com/agrochemicals/brazil-top-10-ais-and-how-re-evaluations-will-impact-major-chemistries/?e=arrow@greenlandschina.com&utm_source=omail&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=abgenews02032021