67
Produção nacional demelancia
VERDE EVERMELHO
Green and red
Ano Áreacolhida Produção Rendimento Valordaprodução
(hectares)
(toneladas) (quilos por hectare)
(mil reais)
2014
94.375
2.171.448
23.009
1.241.537
2015
95.965
2.119.559
22.087
1.233.944
Maiores estadosprodutores (2015)
Estado
Áreacolhida (emhectares)
Produção (toneladas)
RioGrande do Sul
17.701
364.775
Bahia
12.561
244.982
Tocantins
9.395
196.651
São Paulo
8.909
240.716
Goiás
6.757
246.950
Fonte:PAN/IBGE
Exportaçõesbrasileirasdemelancias
Ano
2015
2016
Variação
Valor(US$) Peso(Kg)
Valor(US$) Peso(Kg)
Valor Peso
Melancias 27.059.394 54.953.858
31.491.045 67.437.489 16,38% 22,72%
Fonte:Agrostat/MapaElaboração:SRI/CNAeAbrafrutas
Theproductionofwatermelonshas al-
ways been the major occupation of fami-
ly farmer JoãoMoreira Rodrigues Neto, 45
years old, who cultivates the fruit in the in-
terior of Uruana, in the central region of
Goiás. A member of the supply chain for
25 years, Neto is one of the leading inves-
torsinValedoSãoPatrício,whichcompris-
es about 300 watermelon producers who
devote6thousandhectarestothecropev-
ery year. Now, part of the production har-
vested by Neto from an area of 100 hect-
aresisdestinedfortheforeignmarket,and
is shipped to countries likeArgentina, Uru-
guayandParaguay.
With his wife Flávia Daniela, he runs
with pride his fields, where harvest takes
placefromApriltoOctober.“Wemanageto
harvest50tonsperhectare,withqualityhy-
bridsandmechanization”,hesays.Inthere-
gionwherehegrowshiscrop,heissurethat
the farmers use the most advanced tech-
nologies in Brazil. At harvest, however, the
process is entirely manual, generating jobs
and income. On his farm, Neto also diver-
sifies with pumpkins and livestock, but the
watermelons sustain his family and the ed-
ucationoftheirthreechildren.
n
n
n
Source of income
Country raked in US$ 31.4 billion
from watermelon shipments in 2016
246,950 tons, coming only after Rio Grande
do Sul, with a crop of 364,775 tons.
The performance of the fields in Goiás
was 36,547 kilograms per hectare at that
year, much above the national average and
the average of the other states. São Pau-
lo, with 27,019 kilograms per hectare, and
Tocantins, with 20,931 kilograms per hect-
are, are also of note. Although having the
biggest planted area in 2015 and the big-
gest production, the farmers in Rio Grande
do Sul rank as fourth in productivity, with
20,608 kilograms per hectare.
Now, the watermelon is one of the
most representative fruit in Brazil, espe-
cially when it comes to exports. At the ta-
ble devised by the Brazilian Fruit Growers
and Exporters Association (Abrafrutas),
based on data from Foreign Trade Statis-
tics of Brazilian Agribusiness (Agrostat), of
the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and
Food Supply (Mapa), the fruit ranks as sev-
enth most exported, coming after papa-
yas, preserves, juice preparations, grapes,
lemons, limes, melons and mangoes.
In 2016, the Country raked in US$ 31.4
billion from watermelon shipments. In
all, 67,437,489 kilograms were shipped
to the international buyers, especially to
the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Argen-
tina and Spain. In comparison with 2015,
the watermelon export variation sounds
quite positive, jumping from 16.38% in
value and 22.72% in weight. That year,
Brazil raked in about US$ 27 billion from
the shipment of 54,953,858 kilograms to
the foreign market.
