The Federal Government enacted the 2022-2050 National Fertilizer Plan, seeking to reduce the Brazilian dependency on imported fertilizers, currently supplying more than 80% of demand. Among its goals, the plan aims to improve business and innovation environments and logistics infrastructure related to fertilizers.
The Federal Government, through Decree n.º 10.991/2022, enacted the 2022-2050 National Fertilizer Plan (PNF, in the Portuguese acronym), designed to promote the domestic production of fertilizers, the Brazilian business and research, development, and innovation environments related to the production and distribution of fertilizers, and the development of logistics infrastructure for its supply chain (article 2) in the next 28 years. The plan stems from an inter-ministerial effort enacted by Decree n.º 10.605/2021, reported in the 20th edition of the Regulatory Report.
According to the Federal Government, the main goal of the PNF is to reduce the Brazilian foreign dependency on fertilizers, targeting an increase in the market share of domestically-produced fertilizers from the current 15% to 55% by 2050, considering a one-fold growth in demand. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Brazil is the fourth largest consumer of fertilizers, accounting for 8% of global demand, and the largest global destination of fertilizer exports, currently importing more than 80% of its domestic demand.
The ministry also notes that around 25% of the Brazilian imports of fertilizers originate from Russia, while an additional share of imports originates from Belarus, and that the ministry is adopting additional strategies to circumvent any decreases in the supply of fertilizers stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The third article of the new decree provides the 12 strategic goals of the PNF, which include supporting the development of the Brazilian business environment as a means to attract foreign investments in the exploration, transformation, development, and distribution of fertilizers (item 2); and supporting the planning of investments and streamlining of infrastructure and logistics as a means to attract foreign investments related to the distribution of fertilizers (item 3).
The decree also established the National Council on Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition (CONFERT), an inter-ministerial body designed to set PNF initiatives and specific goals, coordinate with other federal strategic plans, and establish public-private cooperation related to fertilizers and plant nutrition products. The council will also be comprised of four permanent thematic chambers, listed in article 11, whose attributions will be provided in the CONFERT internal regiment. The 2022-2050 PNF will follow four-year cycles of implementation, except for the first cycle, scheduled to conclude by the end of 2023.
