Brazil's Agricultural Sustainability Depends on Chinese Pesticides

As one of the world’s agricultural and livestock powerhouses, Brazil boasts 388 million hectares of fertile and productive farmland, along with 220 million hectares of pasture. The country is a leading global producer of crops such as soybeans, corn, sugarcane, and coffee, playing a vital role in global agricultural output.

Brazil has a vast agrochemical market. According to a report by the UK-based consultancy Kynetec, the market reached USD 20.706 billion in 2023, with pesticide formulations consumption totaling 1.4246 million tons. Among these, glyphosate alone accounted for over 200,000 tons (active ingredient basis). Official statistics from Brazil's ComexStat indicate that agrochemical formulation imports surged to 760,000 tons in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 135,000 tons. Of this, imports from China made up a staggering 70% (533,000 tons), underscoring China’s vital role as the world’s largest agrochemical exporter and a key supplier to Brazil.

The treated crop area with pesticides in Brazil continues to expand. In the first three quarters of 2024, it reached 1 billion hectares, a 10.9% year-on-year increase, with pesticide usage rising by 10.3% over the same period. In terms of crop demand, soybeans, corn, and cotton are the primary users of pesticides, with soybeans accounting for 35% of treated area and corn 27%. By product category, herbicides dominate with a 45% share, followed by insecticides and fungicides at 23% each, and seed treatments and other products making up the remaining 12%.

Not only is Brazil the world’ largest agrochemical market by scale, but its end-user consumption also reached USD 15.1 billion in 2023, up 6.5% year-on-year. Application intensity is also increasing, with total treated area surpassing 2 billion hectares in 2024, a 9.2% increase from 2023, highlighting the high dependency of Brazilian agriculture on pesticide usage.

 Brazil’s pesticide sector is rapidly transitioning toward sustainable practices, with notable growth in the use of biopesticides. According to data from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, nearly 50% of farmers have adopted biopesticides. From 2020 to 2024, a total of 519 low-risk products were approved for registration, and biopesticides consistently accounted for 16%–20% of all pesticide registrations during this period.

China–Brazil Pesticide Collaboration: Prospects and Obstacles

China and Brazil are facing unprecedented opportunities for cooperation in the agrochemical sector, particularly in the areas of sustainable agriculture and food security. As the world’s largest producer of off-patent (generic) pesticide active ingredients, China plays a critical role in safeguarding global food supplies. Brazil—being the world’s largest consumer of pesticides—has become the primary destination for Chinese pesticide exports. To date, more than 70 Chinese manufacturers have registered over 70 technical pesticide active ingredients in Brazil, resulting in nearly 200 pesticide registrations. This highly complementary trade relationship provides a solid foundation for deeper bilateral cooperation.

Recently, Brazilian President Lula signed the National Programme for the Reduction of Pesticides (Pronara), which calls for the gradual phase-out of high-risk pesticides and an increase in the use of biological inputs—measures that strategically align with China’s rapidly developing biopesticide industry. China has registered more than 2,000 biopesticide products, and between 2020 and 2024 forty-nine new pesticide active ingredients were approved, creating broad opportunities for Sino-Brazilian cooperation in biopesticides and the development of new agrochemicals.

However, while China’s agrochemical industry expands rapidly, it also faces a range of challenges that could have far-reaching effects on the Brazilian market.

First, regulatory requirements for production safety, environmental protection, and occupational health are becoming increasingly stringent, forcing companies to allocate more resources to meet compliance standards.

Second, intense product homogenization in the domestic pesticide market has fueled frequent price wars, keeping pesticide prices at depressed levels.

Third, fierce competition between China and India on the supply side has further squeezed profit margins for suppliers.

In addition, macro factors—such as geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts, and a weak global economic recovery—together with trade frictions (notably tariff measures initiated during the Trump administration) have introduced uncertainty into the global agrochemical trade environment and may affect the stability of China’s supply to Brazil. These industry-level challenges not only undermine the profitability of Chinese agrochemical firms but can also propagate through supply chains to the Brazilian market, increasing procurement costs and supply risks for Brazil.

Building a Premier Platform for China–Brazil Agrochemical Industry Collaboration

Organized jointly by CCPIT Sub-Council of Chemical Industry and AllierBrasil, Brasil AgrochemShow - an overseas exhibition of China International Agrochemical & Crop Protection Exhibition (CAC Show) focused on the South American market—has, since its launching in 2005, has developed over 20 years into an important platform for Chinese agrochemical companies to meet buyers from Brazil and wider South America and to expand in the Brazilian agrochemical market.

16th Brasil AgrochemShow was successfully held on August 12–13, 2025, in São Paulo, Brazil. The event received strong support from MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply), ANPII Bio (Associação Nacional de Promoção e Inovação da Indústria de Biológicos), Abisolo (Brazilian Association of Plant Nutrition Technology Industries), and AMA Brasil (Associação dos Misturadores do Brasil). Nearly 70 exhibitors from home and abroad—covering pesticides, fertilizers, manufacturing equipment, logistics, registration testing organizations, and regulatory consulting services—along with 1000+ industry professionals from 13 countries, gathered in São Paulo to discuss new developments of the industry.

During the exhibition, experts from China and Brazil delivered 9 insightful lectures that concentrated on topics such as new challenges of Brazil’s agricultural development, the status of the pesticide market and recent changes in registration and regulatory management, successful pesticide registration practices, applications of biological control, and an overview of China’s agrochemical industry. Concurrently, 6 chats covered issues including pesticide registration in Brazil, product quality control, the needs of sustainable agricultural development, pesticide trade, and pesticide registration in Argentina.

The successful holding of 16th Brasil AgrochemShow will offer exhibitors new opportunities to enter the Brazilian and South American markets and will provide additional support for the healthy, sustainable development of local agriculture and improved harvests.

As a globally renowned one-stop trade platform for the agrochemical industry, 26th China International Agrochemical & Crop Protection Exhibition (CAC2026) will be held on March 17–19, 2026, at National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). CAC2026 features 4 sub-exhibitions: Crop Protection, FSHOW, CACE, and AgTech—fully leveraging its role in connecting the world, serving the industry, and empowering the companies. The exhibition is expected to bring together more than 2,200 exhibitors from home and abroad, over 100,000 industry professionals worldwide, including attendees from South America, to discuss the future collaboration and development of global agrochemical industry.