45
Just like people who use the right
dose for preparing their much celebrated
drink (caipirinha) from lemon and Brazil-
ian cachaça, the sector of this citrus in the
Country is eager to come up with appro-
priate measures to ensure the best prod-
uct and future, especially as far as phytosan-
itary questions go. In general, in the recent
phase, after production growth (total of 1.2
million tons in 2012), supply shrank. In
2015, still with no official numbers, what
caused concern was a change in the rainy
season and, in the sequence, in the season
of the fruit itself and of its prices, which rose
to atypical highs in certain periods, reach-
ing almost R$ 70 per box in August 2016.
Observing this behavior, Afonso Caste-
lucci, president of the Brazilian Lemon Pro-
ducers and Exporters (Abpel), based in
Itajobi, leading lemon producing region
in Brazil, in São Paulo, ascertains a good
domestic market for the citrus fruit, and
dictates its price. The domestic market
absorbs almost 92% of the entire produc-
tion. However, among Brazil’s fresh fruit
exports, lemons rank as third most export-
ed fruit, in volume. The fruit gained mo-
mentum for its availability all over the year
and, in particular, for its appealing appear-
ance (color and skin), used in salads and in
drink preparations, the official recalls”.
Volumes shipped abroad soared over
Lemon segment is
going through an
atypical moment and is
attempting to ensure
soliddevelopment of
the supply chain
In the right
dose
DESTINOS
DESTINATIONS
Principais mercados da fruta
brasileira no exterior – 2015
Fonte:
Agrostat/Mapa.
Países
Toneladas
Países Baixos
60.161
Reino Unido
14.743
Emirados Árabes
11.694
Alemanha
2.175
Bélgica
1.604
Espanha
1.387
O TAMANHO DO LIMÃO
LEMON SIZE
Evolução recente do limão brasileiro
Fontes:
IBGE e Agrostat/Mapa.
Anos
Área (ha)
Produção (t)
Exportação (t)
2009
41.029
899.821
66.374
2010
42.779
1.020.741
63.061
2011
47.267
1.126.736
66.458
2012
47.349
1.208.275
72.810
2013
45.690
1.169.370
78.603
2014
43.394
1.101.762
92.301
2015
–
–
96.632
the past year, amounting to 96.6 thou-
sand tons (up 4.7 percent from the previ-
ous year), in 2015. Revenue then derived
from foreign sales reached US$ 78.6 mil-
lion, down 18.2% from the previous peri-
od. In the first seven months in 2016, com-
pared to the same period last year, prices
made a recovery, but the amounts shipped
abroad pointed to stability, with as small de-
crease (from 69 to 68.6 thousand tons), un-
der the influence of some problems like the
citrus canker in some shipments to the Eu-
ropean Union (EU), major importer.
With regard to this problem, the sector
has strengthened control and prevention
measures, and established a management
system for the process. The phytosanitary
question, by the way, is going through
legislation changes, in which the lem-
on area is pursuing a risk mitigation sys-
tem, jointly established by the private
and public sector, replacing the suppres-
sion model in force. As a result, argues
the leader of the association of producers
and exporters, the rural property will nev-
er be interdicted and will continue operat-
ing, provided certain cares are taken.
To this end, he recalls the need for time
to adapt, besides tools for implementation
and control purposes, but maintains that
no more time should be wasted on stud-
ies and evaluations. “It is a typical ICU unit
case, which requires decisive measures”,
says Castelucci. He also points out efforts
of the sector focused on placing value on
standards, adopting special labels and im-
proving the processes, so as to surmount
the problems and confirm good practices
and promising perspectives. With regard
to the future of the activity and, in partic-
ular, of lemon exports, he foresees expan-
sions some time from now, towards the
same direction “ever more professional,
selective and qualitative”.
