The reality of the fertilizer market in Brazil: a brief analysis

Abstract

Fertilizer is the basic input for the agricultural sector, but Brazil is still deficient in its production, obtaining a level of imports greater than 80%, wich makes it dependent on foreign production. This generates price oscillations, directly affecting the cost of production, mainly in small agricultural enterprises, where the purchasing power of producers decreases. The objective of this article is to evaluate this reality and its effects on rural development, also emphasizing government actions in the face of this situation. For that, emphasis was placed on the bibliographical research method. Among the results, the country’s dependence on fertilizers has increased in the last nine years and government actions, such as the National Fertilizer Plan, would help to improve this situation as long as some plausible resolution, case of investments in the national production of this input, targets become efficient in the short term, so that the current crisis situation is temporary and not structural.