Jan 09, 2023
Brazil's Fertilizer Imports Declined 11% from Jan-Oct of 2022
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
After the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, there was a concern that Brazil may not be able to import the fertilizers needed for the 2022/23 crops, but aggressive efforts on the part of the Brazilian government resulted in ample supplies of fertilizers for Brazilian farmers. Even though fertilizers were widely available, farmers in Brazil applied less fertilizers on the 2022/23 crops due to higher fertilizer costs.
The Brazilian National Association of Fertilizer Distributors (ANDA) reported that between January and October of 2022, Brazil imported 33.96 million tons of fertilizers, which was down 11.4% compared to the 38.33 million tons the prior year.
The Port of Paranagua in southeastern Brazil was the principal entry point for fertilizers responsible for 27.5% of all the fertilizers entering Brazilian ports.
During the first 10 months of 2022, the state of Mato Grosso imported the most fertilizers at 7.98 million tons or 23.5% of the total. The state of Rio Grande do Sul imported 3.72 million tons, Goias 3.69 million, Sao Paulo 3.59 million, Parana 3.51 million, and Minas Gerais3.22 million.
Brazil is heavily dependent on imported fertilizers and the new administration is putting renewed emphasis on more domestic fertilizer production. ANDA reported that between January and October of 2022, Brazil produced 6.26 million tons of fertilizers, which was up 6.2% compared to the 5.9 million the previous year.