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T
he fruit sector in Brazil hopes for
better results in 2017. The Brazil-
ian Confederation of Agriculture
and Livestock (CNA) states in its
2016 Balance/2017 Perspectives
that the segment will continue as one of the
highlights in Brazilian agribusiness. It also
estimates the 2017 production at 44 mil-
lion tons, based on data from the Brazilian
Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
and from fruit exporters. The forecast is for
a bigger crop than the 43.8 million tons es-
timated for 2016. According to entity sourc-
es,inspiteofthebadweatherproblemsthat
hit some important fruit producing hubs in
2016, fruit farming continues generating
opportunities for small-scale businesses.
All over the Country, a great variety of fruit
trees are located in different climates (tropi-
cal, subtropical and temperate).
CNA officials have it that the use of new
production and post-harvest technologies
will increase the efficiency of the fruit pro-
ducing systems in Brazil, thus contributing
Brazilian fruit exports continue on a promising track in 2017,
in the opinion of the Hortifruti Brasil team. The fruit export sector
looks promising, on account of the attractive dollar and low do-
mestic demand for fruit of high value. “Should the production of
quality fruit continue stable, shipments will continue on a rising
trend in 2017”, say analysts. In the annual balance, CNA officials
anticipated expressive increases in fresh fruit and processed fruit
exports in 2017. The result was supposed to take advantage of
thequality anddiversityof fruits producedbyprivateandgovern-
ment initiatives, without overlooking thepublicity focusedon the
quality of the fruit and on market expansions. The contrary was
expected with regard to fruit imports by Brazil. In Cepea’s opin-
ion, the trend is for a reduction in 2017, as a result of theweak de-
mand in the Country and the highly valued dollar.
n
n
n
Extra load
Brazilianfruit
supplychainhas
greathopesforthe
2017crop,favoredby
climateconditionsin
representativeregions
andtheintroduction
ofnewtechnologies
Better
days
Water shortages tend to continue
jeopardizing fruit production in the semiarid
towards the reduction of the production
costs in fruit farming. The use of new fruit fly
controlling technologies, and post-harvest
procedures for grapes andmangoes, in Vale
do São Francisco, have resulted into higher
average productivity, about 3% a year, and
havealso improved fruit quality, say sources
fromthe Brazilian Fruit Growers and Export-
ers Association (Abrafrutas).
Furthermore, forecasts for 2017 point to
a “neutral year”, without any big climate re-
lated phenomena, like La Niña or a new El
Niño, observe the Hortifruti Brasil maga-
zine team, of the Center for Applied Stud-
ies on Advanced Economics (Cepea) of the
Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (Es-
alq), linked to the University of São Paulo
(USP).Thepublicationcameout inFebruary
and features surveysof themainclimate im-
pacts, from2014 to 2016, on the production
of fruit andvegetables, and issues awarning
about possiblewater shortages in2017, par-
ticularly in theBrazilian semiarid. El Niño re-
mainedeffective fromlate2014 tomid2016.
It was the most remarkable and caused
higher than average precipitation levels in
SouthBrazil, and rain shortages in theNorth
andNortheast, from2014 to 2016.
According to the Cepea team, several
years of good rains are necessary to recover
the water reserves in the semiarid and also
in some producing regions in Goiás (like
Cristalina) and Brasília (DF). In the South
and Southeast, the water reserves are quite
normal, which should ensure enough water
supplies for the irrigation demands in the
fruit and vegetable growing regions in 2017.
At the beginning of the year, the forecast
for the production of oranges destined for
consumption and for the industry pointed
to an increase for the 2017/18 growing sea-
son. Oranges represent, on average, 39.7%
of all fruits produced in Brazil, according to
IBGE sources. Climate conditions were fa-
vorable for oranges and other fruit cultivat-
ed in the South and part of the Southeast.
