Global agribusiness giant Cargill is rapidly expanding its crop input business in Brazil, supplying fertilizers, crop protection products and seeds to a growing share of its grain origination customers. Cargill now provides agricultural inputs to approximately 30% of its grain suppliers and aims to increase that figure to 50% over the coming years, according to Georgia Coelho Palermo, Cargill’s Director of Agricultural Inputs for Latin America.
The strategy reflects a structural shift in Brazil’s agricultural supply chain, in which grain traders are increasingly becoming one-stop providers of both crop marketing and production inputs.
“When I joined Cargill six years ago, only 5% of our grain customers purchased inputs from us. Today that figure has reached 30%,” Palermo noted, attributing the expansion largely to the confidence built during the supply disruptions triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Further, according to Palermo, the fertilizer shortages and price spikes experienced in 2022 reinforced the importance of supply security for Brazilian growers.
“There was a period when products simply weren’t available in the market, exactly when farmers needed to purchase fertilizers. We remained cautious with our partners, honored our commitments, and that significantly strengthened customer confidence,” Palermo said.
Cargill marketed 49 million metric tons of grains in Brazil during 2025, up from 45 million tons the previous year. For the 2025/26 season, fertilizer sales increased 15%, while crop protection products and seed sales remained broadly stable.
