21 October 2026, Mato Grosso: Brazilian cotton growers spent a record R$8.217 billion (US$1.478 billion) on crop protection products in the 2025/26 season, a 14 percent increase in local currency over the previous season, according to the FarmTrak Algodão 2025/26 survey published by agricultural market research firm Kynetec.
The survey, reported October 14, 2026 by both Revista Cultivar and Agrolink, found that Brazilian cotton producers applied an average of 107 treatments per season, up 13 percent from 95 treatments the previous year, while the average cost per treatment rose 21 percent, from R$3,472 to R$4,209. The area receiving applications, measured as potential treated area (which counts repeated passes over the same physical land as separate area), rose 6 percent to 209.07 million hectares from 196.31 million hectares. In dollar terms, total spending rose a more modest 10 percent, to US$1.478 billion from US$1.341 billion, reflecting currency movements between the two seasons.
Kynetec’s data, gathered through in-person interviews with nearly 270 cotton properties representing 97 percent of Brazil’s 1.952-million-hectare cultivated cotton area, broke spending down by product category:
Category
2025/26 spending
2024/25 spending
Growth
Share of total
Insecticides
R$4.119 billion
R$3.606 billion
+14%
50%
Fungicides
R$1.98 billion
R$1.617 billion
+19%
24%
Herbicides
R$1.143 billion
R$1.075 billion
+6.3%
14%
Nematicides, seed treatment, other
R$986 million
not disclosed
not disclosed
12%
Insecticides remained the single largest cost category, applied across 87.657 million hectares of potential treated area. Within that category, boll weevil (bicudo) control was the heaviest individual cost driver, averaging 18 treatments per property and totaling roughly R$2 billion in spending. Caterpillar (lagarta) control was the second-largest insect-management cost, at R$928 million, up 15 percent from R$795 million the prior season. Fungicides posted the fastest percentage growth of any category, which Kynetec analyst Felipe Lopes Abelha linked in part to growers shifting toward premium fungicide products rather than simply applying more of the same chemistry.
The spending increase came even as Brazil’s largest cotton-producing state showed signs of pulling back on area. Mato Grosso, the country’s dominant cotton state, saw planted area fall 8 percent, from 1.502 million hectares to 1.376 million hectares, season over season. That combination, lower planted area in the leading state alongside record national crop protection spending, points to rising per-hectare pest, disease and weed pressure (and the higher treatment intensity and premium product mix needed to manage it) rather than simple acreage-driven growth in demand.
Global Agriculture is an independent international media platform covering agri-business, policy, technology, and sustainability. For editorial collaborations, thought leadership, and strategic communications, write to pr@global-agriculture.com
