Brazil Court Suspends Registration of New Glyphosate Agrochemicals for 90 Days

A Labor Court in Brasília has ordered a 90-day temporary suspension on the registration and authorization of all new agrochemicals based on glyphosate and its derivatives across Brazil, signaling an escalation in the legal challenge against the world's most-used herbicide in the world's largest food exporter. The decision, handed down by the 7th Labor Court of Brasília on September 4, is a partial grant of a request filed by the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT).

The MPT's lawsuit, which originally sought a total ban, cites environmental and health concerns, arguing that glyphosate poses risks to rural workers, Indigenous communities, and populations near farming regions. The court’s ruling, however, does not cancel existing product registrations or prohibit the use of the active ingredient currently on the market, meaning farmers can continue to use the stocks they hold.

The temporary halt on new registrations immediately impacts the agribusiness input sector. Glyphosate and its derivatives account for approximately 32% of Brazil’s national agrochemicals market. The overall market value is projected to reach R$ 98.7 billion, or approximately $19.3 billion at the current exchange rate of R$ 5.1143 per dollar, reflecting the enormous scale of chemical reliance in Brazilian crop production, particularly for soybeans and corn.

The core of the judicial order requires two key regulatory agencies to act quickly. The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), the federal health regulator, and the environmental agency, IBAMA, have been ordered to provide environmental assessments, risk maps, and reports detailing the impacts of a potential market withdrawal within the 90-day period. This process will force the government to publicly calculate the economic and environmental trade-offs of restricting the herbicide, which is essential to no-till farming systems that dominate much of Brazil's agricultural heartland.

The legal move marks the latest battle in a recurring fight over glyphosate in Brazil, which has a history of courts intervening in the pesticide registration process, only to have initial rulings later overturned on appeal due to arguments about the product's economic importance. The MPT's action follows a broader push for greater regulatory scrutiny, pointing to the slow pace of re-evaluation for older pesticides in Brazil despite international scientific alerts and studies linking glyphosate exposure to health issues.

The next major dates to watch will be in the coming weeks, as ANVISA and IBAMA must submit their initial reports to the court, which will then determine the course of action at the end of the 90-day suspension period.

What it touches

The temporary suspension affects major global chemical companies like Bayer (which owns Monsanto), Syngenta, and UPL, as it stops the commercial path for new formulations and generic competitors in the world's most critical agrochemical market. The uncertainty could lead to temporary supply chain pressure and impact input costs for Brazilian farmers, which in turn affects the production of global commodities like soybeans and corn, whose prices are currently trading at 1331.75 ¢/bu and 533.5 ¢/bu, respectively.