10/06/2008 11h00
Nutriplant diversifies and bets on perennial crops of sugar-cane and citrus fruits
Gazeta Mercantil - 10/06/2008
Pioneer in the soil micronutrients market and manufacturer of leaf fertilizers, Nutriplant plans to establish its products also for the perennial crops mainly sugar-cane and citrus. "Our distribution was always guided by the Brazilian agriculture profile, which is of a natural producer of soybeans, corn, coffee and cotton. But we have solutions that are adequate to sugarcane or citrus fruits", announces the president of the company Marcos Haaland. According to data of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), there are around 12 million hectares planted with sugarcane and orange in Brazil today. This year's second quarter, the company had a net income of R$ 8.4 million (US$ 4.38 million), with a 30.9% high compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In such period, Nutriplant commercialized 7.1 tons of FTE, which defines growth of 32.4% compared to what was sold in the same quarter of the previous year. 893 tons of leaf micronutrients were sold in the same three months, a volume 12.6% bigger than 2007's. The company's sales in the last twelve months was around R$ 40 million (US$ 20.8 million) and the sector's was R$ 800 million (US$ 416.7 million). "With the Brazilian agriculture in expansion toward the Brazilian Savannah, the demand for micronutrients should grow considerably", foresees Haaland. According to analysts' estimates, the micronutrients market grows at 20% rates, while fertilizers' remains in 5%. In the last two years, Nutriplant grew 35%, on the average. Contrarily to the prices of traditional fertilizers (NPK), prices of micronutrients remained stable and can be a reasonable solution for the Brazilian producer. "Our market is directly proportional to the planted area. There are 45 million of hectares planted with annual crops and we already supply a great part of them. Our focus now is on the 16 million hectares of perennial crops, and we have the solution for 100% of the crops", highlights the president. The company has the capacity to produce 55 thousand tons per year.
