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S
ome two decades ago, the Brazil-
ian Northeast came to grips with
its capacity to produce quality
fruit, as advances in technology,
irrigation systems and manage-
ment practices made it possible to surmount
the water shortages. Appropriate micro cli-
mate and soils, available technologies and
satisfied growers provided for a development
panorama in the promising fruit producing
hubs,whichhavenowbeenconsolidatedand
expanded. Among them, over the past years
theStateofRioGrandedoNortestoodoutasa
Brazilian reference – and equally as global ref-
erence–intheproductionofmelons.
The success achieved with melons at-
tracted other fruits to the locality, like papa-
yas, mangoes, watermelons and pineapples,
more specifically to theMossoróandAçuval-
Although facing a prolonged drought, capable of reducing pro-
duction areas, Rio Grande do Nortemanaged to export 18%more
fruitin2016,bringinginUS$110millioninrevenuefromshipments
of melons, papayas, mangoes and watermelons. It was a big-
ger than expected growth, based on higher productivity achieved
through the introductionof new technologies, and the behavior of
theexchange rate. Thegrowth in theproductionof quality fruit has
alsotodowiththearrivaloftraditionalproductionandexportcom-
panies fromCeará (in the case of melons) and fromEspírito Santo
(papayas). Water shortages in these states favored the concentra-
tionof fruit production in the stateof RioGrandedoNorte.
ThepresidentoftheBrazilianFruitGrowersandExportersAsso-
ciation (Abrafrutas), Luiz Roberto Barcelos, believes that through-
out 2017 the sector is supposed to grow at least 10%. To this end,
he bets on the entrance of melons from Rio Grande do Norte into
theChinesemarket and the higher value of the fruit indollar at the
end of the first half of the year. The cultivated area is also likely to
goupby10%in the region, as there is expectation for theeconomy
toimproveand,therefore,highernationalconsumptionwillfollow.
In2016, only frommelonexports, RioGrandedoNorte raked in
US$75.3million. Bigger foreign saleswas a strategy for facingado-
mesticmarket caught in theeconomicandpolitical crisis.
n
n
n
Throughout the world
Leadingproducerand
exporterofmelonsin
Brazil,RioGrandedo
Norteiswitnessing
thegrowthofitsfruit
farmingbusinesswith
investmentsinanew
productionhub
Thebig
North
Besides the consolidated Mossoró and Açu hubs,
fruits are now finding their way to Apodi
leys, and consolidated one of the main fruit
fairs in Brazil, known as Expofruit, and now
cultivationsaremakingtheirwaytoChapada
doApodi,extensionoflandnowcapturingat-
tention to the production of grapes, passion
fruit and citrus fruit, well adapted to its soil,
altitudeandclimate conditions.
Rio Grande do Norte is one of the areas
that boasts great dynamism in the area of
tropical and irrigated fruit production, thanks
to modern technologies, to more than 300
days of sunshine throughout the year and its
edaphoclimatic conditions. Mossoró has be-
come an industrial and logistic center, with
fruit cargoes shippedby air toEurope and the
United States, taking advantage of off-season
windowsof other relevant global fruit produc-
ers.TheAçu/Mossoróhub,inthenortheastern
region in Rio Grande do Norte, covers almost
7 thousand squaremeters, and has a popula-
tionofapproximately400thousandpeople.
The modernization of the sector is char-
acterizedby the high levels of production and
productivity. Despite diversification efforts,
with fruit like mangoes and bananas, melons
are the real players and responsible for the
huge exports, turning the State into the big-
gest producer and exporter during this sea-
son. In the high technology fields, the area
cultivated in 2016 reached 12 thousand hect-
ares. The success of the State attracted inves-
torsfromneighboringStates,whichisthecase
ofthefarmersinItaueira,whoassumedpartof
theareaabandonedbyDelMonte in Ipangua-
çu,inValedoAçu.The400hectaresundercul-
tivation since August 2016, and investment of
R$ 8million, generated 600 jobs and 550 con-
tainersoffruitexportedviaNatalport.
“Besides the soil characteristics, the
consolidation of the hub in Rio Grande do
Norte and the logistic hub attract new in-
vestments. We are going to make further
strides”, says Guilherme Saldanha, secre-
tary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery in
RioGrande doNorte.
Franco Marinho, administrator of the
Fruit Farming and Agroindustry Depart-
ment at the Brazilian Micro and Small Busi-
ness Support Service (Sebrae) inRioGrande
do Norte, bets on the good water reserves,
on the climate in the semiarid, on the low
humidity levels and on the rainfalls for im-
proving the agricultural frontier of the Apo-
di hub, with an eye on the production of
fresh fruit. “There are about 800 producers
and the trend is for this number to rise”, he
explains. The irrigated area could reach 8
thousand kilometers. “There is a long way
to go, but we are making strides towards a
very promising future”, he concludes.
