Reflections on the Argentinian Agrochemicals Market
16 May 2022 
For more than two decades, Chempro’s Managing Director Diego Taube has maneuvered through the country’s crop protection industry. He shares some insights and a few things he’s learned along the way.
Working for 25 years with Chempro SA, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based provider of agrochemicals, Taube leads a team of agents representing producers and international marketing organizations serving as “the link between Chinese, Indian, European, and U.S. producers, or traders and Argentinian importers.”
ABG: How competitive is the crop input market in Latin America?
DT: Well, Brazil is the number one market in the world. They are better organized. From what I hear, they reflect international market changes much more than Argentina does.
Uruguay is something special. It’s a small country, so getting registrations for formulated product is very easy, and this provides opportunities for producers to enter the market. It’s also why they have very low market for the farmer.
ABG: What’s the best approach for a company looking to enter the Argentinian market?
DT: It depends on the company they hire. There (have been) companies that first sent some people from their own country. And, of course, these people were failing because they were lacking local (connections).
There is not one best strategy. It all depends on each company, and how they want to doit. Some people find an agent. That’s what we are. And we will become their sales departments in Argentina.
Some people decide to start their own company and hire lots of employees. Others send some people from their country to try to figure out a way to create a distribution channel.
You need to get the confidence of the Argentinian purchasers in companies. You can do it more quickly with an Argentinian partner. It will take much, much, much longer, if you have to start building this trust from zero.
ABG: How do you evaluate the companies that you want to partner with?
DT: We try to meet them personally to be able to visit their factories or the offices. We try to be very fair to everybody, there are some companies that are very good, but their products don’t fit our portfolio.
And if this is the case, we’re happy to recommend them to customers or friends that are a more suitable fit.
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