RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil |March 13, 2026 — Brazilian fertilizer company Agrion Fertilizantes has set an ambitious target to produce 500,000 metric tons of organic fertilizer annually from sugarcane waste by 2031 — a move its founder says could help shield one of the world’s most important agricultural economies from mounting geopolitical supply-chain risks.
Ernani Judice, CEO and founder of Agrion Fertilizantes, made the announcement this week during a presentation at an industry event hosted by consultancy Datagro in Ribeirao Preto, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.
Judice highlighted the urgency of reducing Brazil’s dependence on imported fertilizers, particularly as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to disrupt global commodity markets.
Brazil imports 20% of its fertilizer from countries that are always embroiled in geopolitical issues.
Right now, there’s the serious situation with Iran — but something happens every year.
— Ernani Judice, CEO, Agrion Fertilizantes
Brazil’s Fertilizer Import Crisis
Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse — the world’s largest sugar producer and a leading exporter of soybeans, corn, and beef.
Yet the country imports approximately 85% of the 41 million metric tons of fertilizer it uses each year, according to Brazil’s national research agency Embrapa.
That dependence leaves its vast agricultural sector exposed to price shocks driven by wars, sanctions, and shipping disruptions far beyond its borders.
The vulnerability was thrown into sharp relief in recent weeks following military strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran, which sent global oil and commodity prices surging.
Data from consultancy Agrinvest show that an estimated 41% of Brazil’s urea imports — approximately 3 million metric tons in 2025 — passed through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically sensitive waterways.
Turning Sugarcane Waste into Organic Fertilizer
Agrion’s solution taps into Brazil’s most abundant agricultural resource.
The company builds fertilizer factories alongside existing sugar and ethanol mills, sourcing two key sugarcane by-products — vinasse (a liquid residue from ethanol distillation) and filter cake (the solid organic matter left after sugarcane juice is filtered) — to produce a range of slow-release organomineral fertilizers.
This integrated, co-location model reduces logistics costs, minimises environmental impact from waste disposal, and creates a circular economy loop in which sugarcane mills effectively become both the source of raw materials and the customers for the finished fertilizer product.
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Uberlandia, Agrion currently operates one factory in Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, in partnership with bioenergy company Aroeira, producing around 60,000 metric tons of fertilizer per year.
Two additional plants are under construction in the state of Sao Paulo, with the company focusing its expansion on Goias, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Brazil’s Northeast region.
A Ten-Factory Expansion Backed by UN-Linked Investment
To reach its 500,000-metric-ton annual target by 2031, Agrion plans to expand to 10 factories, with an eventual ambition of 20 new plants over the following decade.
Brazil currently has more than 400 sugarcane mills, giving the company a substantial pipeline of potential sites.
The expansion is being funded in part by the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, managed by US investment manager Pegasus Capital Advisors.
The fund — whose primary investor is the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund — has committed up to R$250 million (approximately $50 million USD) to Agrion, of which $20 million has already been deployed, Judice confirmed.
Each new factory requires an investment of approximately R$30 million.
If the company hits its targets, annual revenues are projected to reach nearly R$2 billion (roughly $387 million USD) by 2031.
Protecting Coral Reefs Through Circular Agriculture
The involvement of a coral reef protection fund in an agricultural fertilizer startup might seem unusual, but there is a clear environmental logic at play.
Vinasse and other sugarcane processing waste are highly polluting when left unmanaged, and often leach into waterways that ultimately drain into coastal ecosystems, threatening coral reefs and marine habitats.
According to Dale Galvin, Executive Director of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, Agrion fits squarely within the fund’s circular economy and pollution management mandate.
By providing a commercially viable destination for sugarcane waste, the company helps remove a significant source of marine pollution while supporting a more sustainable agricultural supply chain.
Judice has noted that the company is particularly focused on the Brazilian Northeast, home to the only coral reef ecosystem in the South Atlantic — underscoring the direct link between its industrial operations and ocean conservation.
Strategic Significance for Brazilian Agriculture
If Agrion achieves its 2031 targets, it would represent a meaningful — though not transformational — contribution to reducing Brazil’s fertilizer import bill.
Five hundred thousand metric tons is roughly 1.2% of the 41 million tons Brazil uses annually, but the model’s scalability and circular economy credentials give it outsized strategic value as a proof of concept for domestic organic fertilizer production.
With over 400 sugar mills nationwide and mounting political pressure to reduce Brazil’s exposure to fertilizer import risks, the company’s integrated, waste-to-nutrient model may attract further investment and government attention in the years ahead.
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