A survey by CNN Brasil pointed out that, from 1998 to 2021, there was a 440% increase in fertilizer imports. The data are from the National Association for the Diffusion of Fertilizers (Anda).
The data confirm Brazil’s dependence on fertilizer imports. According to Anda, 85% of the fertilizers used in 2021 were imported – of the 45.8 million tons used in the country, 39.2 million came from abroad.
In 1998, the country imported 7.2 million tons – which corresponded to almost 49% of domestic consumption. In the same period, national production fell by 5.6%, from 7.4 million tons to 6.9 million.
In 2019 and 2020, the import tax remained at 81%, but the amount of imported tons increased by 11% – from 29.6 million tons to around 32.9 million. In 2017 and 2018, the imported percentage did not exceed 77%.
According to the executive director of the National Union of Industries of Raw Materials for Fertilizers (Sinprifert), Bernardo Silva, the elimination of the import tax rate for fertilizers in 1997 by the National Council for Finance Policy (Confaz) discouraged national production.
Brazil is the fourth country in the consumption of fertilizers, which represents about 8% of world consumption.
In Brazil, agribusiness represents 27.4% of the Brazilian GDP. According to Silva, the input is responsible for about half of the productivity of an agricultural crop. “Agriculture is the engine of the country, that is, without fertilizer Brazil will potentially produce half of what it produces today”, he warns.
Therefore, according to him, it makes no sense not to invest in the national production of fertilizers: “and the country has the capacity to produce fertilizers, we have enough natural gas available. We have phosphate and potassium available,” he explains.
In addition to the lack of investment, deindustrialization also contributed to the low national production of the input. “ Over the last 25 years, Brazil has adopted public policies that subsidize imports, while burdening national production. Imported fertilizer pays zero import tax, paid zero IPI – tax on industrialized products – until December 31 of last year. The national product pays 8.4% of ICMS, pays taxes and all the costs that imported products do not have.”
This changed as of March 2021, when Confaz, at its 332nd Extraordinary Meeting, determined that the rate on domestic and interstate sales would start at 1% in 2022, and would be increased by one percentage point each year, until reaching 4% in 2025. The same became valid for products coming from abroad, extinguishing the zero rate.
Source: CNN Brasil
