Sílvio Ávila
54
It is great responsibility to reach the
500th year of existence, brand new, alone
or with someone else, and pleasing the
most discerning palates across Brazil, whilst
living side by side with other brands and
styles. Democratic, Brazilian cachaça has
been doing well since its “discovery” and
makes no distinction between social class-
es, ideology, religion, age groups – from 18
to 90 –, it bears a brand name, flavor, spec-
ificity, cultural and regional aspects and ca-
ters for all tastes. It is the most consumed
distilled liquor in the Country.
Production has progressed considerably
since it was first produced, back in 1516, at
the Itamaracá trading post, now belonging
to the State of de Pernambuco. In all, 1.4
billion liters a year are produced in Brazil,
by more than 40 thousand producers, con-
sidering industrial scale processing and tra-
ditional methods, for an average consump-
tion of 6.29 liters per inhabitant, high for an
average per capita consumption of 10.5 li-
ters a year, considering only the people that
fit into the 18 – 59 age group.
About 99% of the cachaça producers in
Brazil are micro companies. From produc-
tion to sales, the “caninha” generates some
500 thousand direct and indirect jobs. The
premium segment, which started the trade
of the best cachaças, chosen through quality
contests and compliance with manufactur-
ing rules, has lost a bit of its vitality over the
past years, as a result of the economic down-
Worthy recognition
Cachaça, pinga, canha, caninha... The genuine Brazilian distilled liquor
completes 500 years of national preference and looks overseas with confidence
turn and excessive taxation.
Although lagging behind global mar-
kets, the distilled liquor made in Brazil is
shipped abroad and has conquered loy-
al markets: Germany, the leading import-
er of the Brazilian beverage because of the
most Brazilian of all drinks, the caipirinha.
However, the severity of the economic cri-
sis made exports drop 27% in revenue
and 17% in volume, in 2015, according
to sources from the Ministry of Develop-
ment, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).
Revenue generated in 2015, US$ 13.32
million, was the lowest since 2007.
There had been a reverse expectation,
focused on a steady sales uptrend, when in
2012 the United States, second largest im-
porter of Brazil’s caninha, acknowledged
the beverage as a genuinely Brazilian drink,
no longer as rum or tequila. The manufac-
turers have it that, in spite of an exchange
rate favorable to exports, investments are
needed for promoting the product abroad
if export peaks are to be achieved, like in
2014. The big national companies that
produce and bottle cachaça, like Pitú, 51,
Velho Barreiro, Ypioca and Colonial, only
ship abroad from 1% to 5% of their pro-
duction. Cachaça represents about 5% of
the global production of distilled liquors.
The beverage that is exported is industrial
cachaça, for the preparation of drinks, like
caipirinha, and its added value is low, also
because it is shipped in bulk.
* No total, em 2015, o Brasil exportou a bebida para
43 países. –
Fonte:
Agrostat/MAPA – Janeiro 2016
País
Valor (US$)
Alemanha
2.466.525
Estados Unidos
1.975.792
França
1.555.189
Paraguai
1.109.665
Portugal
1.005.393
Itália
692.293
Espanha
679.083
Uruguai
643.290
Reino Unido
598.374
Bolívia
350.481
Na ponta da língua
On the tip of the tongue
Maiores consumidores
internacionais da cachaça
brasileira em 2015
Exportações de
Cachaça 2015
Cachaça exports
Ranking por Estados
Fonte:
Mapa/Agrostat – Janeiro 2016
Estado
Valor (US$)
São Paulo
5.416.649
Rio de Janeiro
1.829.804
Minas Gerais
1.752.526
Pernambuco
1.713.153
Ceará
1.217.647
Paraná
854.509
Rio Grande do Sul
346.085
Santa Catarina
108.332
Bahia
81.694
Mato Grosso
98
Outros
187
Total
13.320.684
