Biodefensives advance in the field even with credit crisis

Amidst the credit crisis in agribusiness and the rise in the cost of imported inputs, the biological pesticides market maintains a growth rate driven by a competitive advantage: around 90% of national production of biochemicals is made in Brazil. According to Gustavo Herrmann, CEO of Koppert Brasil, a biodefensive company, local production reduces external dependence and improves the exchange relationship with rural producers in a scenario of pressure on costs and financing.

According to the executive, the agricultural input sector is facing an environment of financial difficulties, marked by an increase in judicial recoveries among both distributors and producers. Still, "biological continued to grow even with the crisis", he stated.

Herrmann said that the segment has gained competitiveness mainly in commodity crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton and sugar cane, in which producers have little margin to increase costs per hectare. According to him, the rise in the prices of chemical pesticides, aggravated by external factors such as the conflict in the Middle East, opened space for partial replacement of chemical applications with biological ones.

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"Today we see producers exchanging chemical applications for biological ones, something that is not so common in everyday life", he stated. According to the executive, traditionally biological products were used in a complementary way, but the current scenario favors an expansion of use due to the combination of lower cost and a profile considered more sustainable.

In the assessment of the CEO of Koppert Brasil, credit restrictions affect chemical and biological companies in a similar way. He explained that, given the reduced supply of bank financing, the industry itself has assumed part of the risk by granting extended payment terms to producers, in some cases up to 365 days.

"Industry often works like a bank," said Herrmann. According to him, the increased risk makes companies more selective when granting credit, but the national production of biological products reduces part of the exchange rate exposure and dependence on imports.

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Koppert Brasil recorded growth of 15% in 2025, in line with the expansion of the biological market, according to the executive. For 2026, the expectation is for organic growth of between 10% and 15%, with additional potential driven by the launch of three new products.

The company is also preparing an expansion of operations in the country as part of a movement aimed at a future IPO in the medium term. In November, the company began raising 100 million euros, in an operation led by Itaú BBA. The resources will be used to build three new factories in Brazil.

According to Herrmann, the operation is part of the strategy to seek greater financial and management independence in relation to the Dutch parent company. According to the executive, the structure will allow the company to access financial instruments that it does not currently use, such as CPRs, CRAs and BNDES lines. The expectation is to complete the announcement of the operation by July.

Source: CNN