Production costs of soybeans to fungicides in Brazil reached 8.3 billion Brazilian reais, of which 96% was intended only to control of soybean rust.

Along the cost of insecticides amounted to 6.2 billion Brazilian reais and 4.8 billion for herbicides.

Total amount spent on pesticides for soybeans totaled 19.3 billion Brazilian reais in the 2016/17 season when the soybean crop is worth 117 billion Brazilian reais and correspond to 16.5% of the total cost of soybean production in the country.

Data were published on may 22, the Center for advanced studies in applied Economics (Cepea), based on the research conducted by the center in partnership with the National Association of plant protection (Andef).

The study monitored the evolution of the distribution of the main pests and diseases affecting the crops of soybeans, corn and cotton in the seasons 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 years as well as the corresponding economic consequences for producers and countries.

In addition, experts Cepea modeled a situation in which manufacturers would not use fungicides to control soybean rust.

Despite the fact that it has brought savings on agrochemicals in the amount of 5.75 billion Brazilian reais, a drop in the soybean crop did not compensate for this decision, because the yield would fall by about 30%.

"Assuming that the producers could compensate for this loss of productivity through expansion of cultivated area, they would have spent 33 billion Brazilian reais for additional resources (labor, investment, logistics and so on) to enter the land with the increase in acreage by nearly 1/3 from the existing area under soybean," analysts said.

For the country in macroeconomic terms, one would expect in such a scenario, a 30% reduction in the volume of exports, equivalent to losses of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars external revenue from products soybean complex.

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