São Paulo – Brazilian imports of fertilizers hit a record high in January, according to crop agency Conab. Purchases reached 2.77 million tonnes, up 15% compared to 2.41 million tonnes a year earlier.
Conax explains that the increase occurred because due to forecasted adverse weather events, purchases of nitrogen fertilizers that would be made in 2023 for soybean planting and the second crop of maize, for example, were postponed to earlier this year. The volume imported was the highest in the past five years.
“Forecasts for the 2023/24 season started posing major challenges as the cereal production cycle declined due to adverse weather events in Brazil, causing a lack of rainfall and high temperatures in the Center-West combined with surplus precipitation in the South region, which affected planting and development of cultures relevant to the country’s second crop,” Conab said.
Nitrogen purchases, coupled with phosphate and potassium deals, which saw major volumes and good prices and usually take place around this time of the year, impacted the result in the first month. Conab reports that estimates by trade group Anda point to an increase in the carryover stock of fertilizers in Brazil from 2023 to 2024.
According to Conab, of total fertilizer imports arriving in Brazil last month, a million tonnes were landed through the Port of Paranaguá in Paraná, 0.31 million tonnes through the Arco Norte in North Brazil, and 0.8 million tonnes through the Port of Santos in São Paulo. Inflows increased in both Paranaguá and Santos but decreased in Arco Norte.
Translation by Guilherme Miranda
