Strong dollar hits Brazil agchem sales

Agrochemical sales in Brazil rose by 17% to R$256 million ($108 million at current rate) in October compared with October 2007, the Brazilian agrochemical industry trade association, the Sindag, says. However, the market fell by 3% in dollar terms due to its strengthening against the real. The major crops on which pesticide use grew were cotton, maize, pasture, potatoes, soybeans and tomatoes. Sales for the first ten months of the year were up by 31% in national currency terms to R$10,246 million ($4,328 million). Import volumes inched up by 1.4% to 29.9 tonnes in October 2008 compared with the same month last year, information chief Ivan Amancio Sampaio told Agrow. Imports for the first ten months grew by 32.2% to 204.7 tonnes.