Mosaic is launching its first proprietary technology in Latin America’s fast-growing biologicals market after a decade of research, starting in Paraguay as regulatory delays keep the product out of Brazil.
PowerCoat, which combines biological microorganisms with mineral fertilizers, has been cleared for sale in Paraguay. In Brazil, Mosaic is waiting for implementing regulations for the country’s bioinputs law before it can launch the product, according with Eduardo Monteiro, country manager for Brazil and Paraguay.
The law was approved nearly two years ago but still requires an implementing decree. A draft is currently with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin’s office, Monteiro said.
PowerCoat integrates Bacillus microorganisms into mineral fertilizers. Mosaic says the technology improves fertilizer efficiency and nutrient uptake by crops, helps distribute microorganisms more evenly across fields and reduces nutrient losses.
“We are talking about regenerative agriculture and restoring soil health. And the results are very good,” Monteiro told The AgriBiz.
Trials on tropical soils showed an average soybean yield increase of 3.5 bags per hectare (a bag weighs 60 kg). Corn yields increased by eight 60-kilogram bags per hectare.
PowerCoat, which Mosaic already sells in North America, also has a two-year shelf life, well above the market average, according to Felipe Pecci, the company’s commercial vice president in the region.
“The connection between a biological product and fertilizer presents two major challenges,” Pecci said. “The first is selecting a group of strains that are compatible with the fertilizer and can promote crop growth. That is very difficult, and most attempts fail.”
Mosaic launched Latin America’s only laboratory capable of conducting that compatibility testing in Uberaba, in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, earlier this year. The irony is that the technology still cannot be launched in Brazil because implementing regulations are not yet in place.
Field trials are already underway in Brazil. “We have samples at the main research sites in Brazil,” Monteiro said. “Now it is a matter of Brazil actually having a regulatory framework so we can bring this technology to Brazilian farmers as well.”
Growth Engine
Biologicals are at the center of Mosaic’s growth strategy for the coming years. The company, which aims to become a global leader in bionutrition, expects to more than double global revenue from its biologicals business this year.
Mosaic BioSciences generated $68 million in global sales in 2025. That’s still a small share of Mosaic’s $12 billion in total revenue that year, but a business the company sees as having significant growth potential.
Brazil and China have so far been the main growth drivers.
“In Brazil, we expect to more than triple bionutrition revenue this year,” Monteiro said, without disclosing the country’s 2025 sales.
That forecast includes only Mosaic’s current portfolio of products based on third-party technologies, a model the company has used in recent years.
“Imagine when we have access to the market with our own products,” Monteiro said. “That is why we have such high expectations for this process,” referring to the bioinputs regulations.
In addition to PowerCoat, Mosaic has 10 to 12 biological products in its pipeline for launch over the next several years, Monteiro said. The company plans to continue working with partners even after sales of its own technologies become possible.
Mosaic also sees substantial room for growth in Brazil due the current low adoption.
“On a very simple calculation, 30% of Brazilian agriculture has already tried biologicals and 70% has not,” Monteiro said. “The growth base is very large. When we combine that with bionutrition and bring an innovative product like this, it becomes very powerful.”
Regulatory Hurdles
The decree implementing Brazil’s bioinputs law is now under review by the vice president’s office and should be published in the coming weeks, Monteiro said. He highlighted three priorities the fertilizer industry wants addressed.
One is the registration process for products containing new microbial strains. Under the current draft, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry, health regulator Anvisa and environmental authorities would all assess human-health and environmental risks, respectively, for bioinputs used in crop protection.
“For biomineral fertilizers, we believe the competent authority should be the Agriculture Ministry,” Monteiro said. “We respect Anvisa and the Environment Ministry on crop-protection issues. But not in this case.”
Another priority is formal recognition of biominerals and hybrid fertilizers as regulatory categories.
“That would give us a clear regulatory classification for a technology that combines mineral fertilizer and biologicals,” Monteiro said. “Without a doubt, it is an important step toward enabling innovation.”
Mosaic is also seeking stronger legal protections for intellectual property, Monteiro said.
“We have also worked hard to ensure legal certainty,” he said. “Anyone who has done this kind of work, developed the product and invested in research and development needs to have their patent and rights protected.”
This story was translated from the original Portuguese with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by The AgriBiz editorial staff.
