Colombia’s Exponential Growth, Despite Political Backlash

"We expect impressive growth in the following months and years in usable land, a huge part of which might be for biofuel crops."

“We expect impressive growth in the following months and years in usable land, a huge part of which might be for biofuel crops.” –Santiago Mejia

Santiago Mejía is head of Corporación CampoLimpio, and true to the meaning of the name, runs a program promoting the responsible collection and disposal of pesticide containers. CampoLimpio is affiliated with CropLife Latin America and represents 20 large agrochemical producers and importers throughout Colombia. He chatted with Farm Chemicals International on the latest developments in the Colombian market.

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FCI: How would you describe the current state and direction of the Colombian crop protection market?

Colombia is one of the most important markets in Latin America. Local and international food demand and the expansion of biofuel requirements have pushed exponentially investments on usable land, especially in Colombian eastern departments (near Venezuela and Brazil borders).

Unfortunately, this being an election year in Colombia, incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos has been threatening the agrochemical industry with supplies price control in order to smooth over farmers and other entrepreneurs related with this industry.

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FCI: What products do you see as high-demand in Colombia? Also, what are the major cropping trends right now and looking ahead?

It varies from crop to crop. But I believe that most kinds of crop protection products are being used. Fertilizers and agrochemicals are used nationwide. The most in-demand products are glyphosate, mancozeb, propanil, paraquat, 2, 4-D and chlorothalonil. Strategic crops like soy, corn, rice and African palm tree are right now the most important in land use and agrochemical consumption.

FCI: Can you discuss the latest regulatory developments
and other top factors affecting your country and surrounding regions? Are there any surprising developments so far this year?

Our major concern is the volatility of decisions made by our national government and from the Agricultural Ministry. Most companies with operations in Colombia are in a sort of “standby mode” until the presidential election finishes and a definition on the new laws and regulations are made public.

There is a regulatory framework that has been gaining strength, especially in northern Latin America. It is called “AIU” (Agricultor, Importador, Usuario), which in English could be translated as “Farmer, Importer, User.” This framework gives any person who decides to import, produce or distribute any type of agrochemical and other kinds of crop protectors, the chance to do it with minimum authorities’ regulation, traceability and controls.

I believe that opening this door will be disastrous with our already damaged environment, crop productivity, public health and harvest quality.

FCI: If it is not a law, how would you best describe its authority?

No, it is not exactly a law written by Congress. Actual legislation gives this institute full autonomy to do this kind of things. In Colombia, It can be described as some sort of act designed by a local institution called Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA). This institution’s job is to “accept” new agrochemical registries so that they can be commercialized in the local market. The AIU framework is an adjustment to minimum conditions needed to present registrations – a clear benefit to untrustworthy sellers.

FCI: How is Colombia helping fuel Latin America’s
agricultural growth?

Right now Colombia uses a fuel mix comprised of 10% biofuel and 90% regular fuel. This has given an incentive to farmers that harvest crops used for this industry. Also, product exports are increasing each year.
And as I said before, we expect an impressive growth in the following months and years in usable land, a huge part of which might be for biofuel crops.

FCI: How are developments in the Chinese agchem industry impacting companies in the LatAm region right now?

China is starting to be an important player in local market. Some products barely surpass minimum quality standards; some might compete hand-in-hand with already established products and brands from other countries. Local authorities’ weaknesses are just what irregular and/or illegal companies need to start a business in Colombia. It doesn´t matter if these so-called “companies” are from China, or from any other country. National government and its authorities are one of our major concerns.

Now, China is here to stay, whether we like or not. We must prepare ourselves for this new challenge.

FCI: What other opportunities and challenges are being
discussed in the Colombian market that you think
deserve mentioning?

Some other factors that concern our industry are related to the illegality of some players. Smuggling from Venezuela and Ecuador are in some Colombian departments, and are a present danger and a real threat to our activity. In some places you can find that 30% of the market is owned by this kind of sellers.

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