How the energy crisis could negatively impact future crops

Brazilian producers are struggling to find fertilizers and pesticides on the market. The main causes are energy crises in countries that supply raw materials for these products, such as China, Russia, and India, and logistical problems due to the lack of containers and ships.

The biggest impacts are not felt yet because farmers buy these inputs in advance, say analysts consulted by g1. But the shortage has begun to impact the cost of food production and could harm the 2022/23 harvest.

Import-dependence

Brazil, in general, obtains these items abroad for two reasons: the country does not have the raw material and, in some cases, it simply does not use it for this purpose, explains Professor Carlos Eduardo Vian from “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture (ESALQ) at the University of São Paulo (USP).

More than 60% of the ingredients in pesticides and 70% of those used in fertilizers come from abroad, making Brazil the only large agricultural center that depends on the import of inputs, says Carlos Cogo, managing partner of Cogo consulting firm.

Chemical fertilizers work like a type of compost to prepare and stimulate the land for planting.

Altogether, Brazil imports 76% of the raw material for these products. Of these, 32% come from China, explains Christian Lohbauer, president of CropLife Brazil, an association that resulted from the joining of other entities in the sector, including pesticide manufacturers, which previously presented themselves as ANDEF (the national association for plant defense).

“What is happening today is that China has made a change in its energy policy and chemical centers in many provinces that produce yellow phosphorus and glyphosate are no longer operating as much as they used to”, summarizes Lohbauer.

Source: G1

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