Market and product

Brazil's Agrion Fertilizantes is targeting production of half a million metric tons of fertilizer made from waste sugarcane by 2031, which would ​help the country offset exposure to geopolitical risks, founder and CEO Ernani Judice ‌said on Wednesday.

Brazil, an agricultural giant, is the world's top sugar producer and grows hundreds of millions of tons of sugarcane each year. At the same time, it imports the overwhelming majority of the ​fertilizer it uses, exposing its agriculture sector to the ebb and flow of ​global tensions.

Attacks launched by Israel and the U.S. against Iran in recent ⁠weeks sent prices for oil and other commodities skyward, throwing Brazil's reliance on foreign ​fertilizer imports into sharp relief.
Brazil imports approximately 85% of the 41 million tons of fertilizer ​it uses each year, according to the country's research agency Embrapa. In particular, an estimated 41% - or nearly 3 million tons - of its imports of urea, a major component in some fertilizers, passed through the ​Strait of Hormuz before reaching Brazil in 2025, according to data from consultancy Agrinvest.

"Brazil ​imports 20% of its fertilizer from countries that are always embroiled in geopolitical issues," Judice said during ‌a presentation ⁠at an industry event held by consultancy Datagro in Ribeirao Preto, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.

"Right now, there's the serious situation with Iran, but something happens every year," he said.

The company is supported by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, which has so ​far invested $20 million ​in Agrion and could ⁠increase that sum to $50 million, Judice said on the sidelines of the Datagro event.

Agrion takes waste sugarcane to make its fertilizer in ​factories that it builds alongside existing sugar and ethanol mills, Judice ​said.

While the ⁠company currently has three factories in Brazil - one producing some 40,000 metric tons of fertilizer each year and another two under construction - it expects to reach 10 factories by 2031.

"The business ⁠plan today ... ​involves 10 plants and will produce around 500,000 tons ​of fertilizer per year. This would bring us close to 2 billion reais ($387.4 million) in revenue," Judice said in ​an interview.

($1 = 5.1624 Brazilian reais)