TheBrazilianolericulturemap is still show-
ing production concentrations in the major
consuming centers, in the Southeast. In this
region, São Paulo has been the leading pro-
ducer for years, followed by Minas Gerais, ac-
cording to a recent survey of the most repre-
sentative crops. Besides these two states and
the traditional southern states, the list of major
producers includes Goiás, in the Center-West,
and Bahia, in the North, with significant num-
bers among the most representative crops.
The Agricultural Economy Institute (IEA),
in São Paulo, in 2013, identified that State as
the leading producer and consumer of veg-
etables in the Country, with a production of
4.1million tons, including 53 species, in 2011.
Numbers surveyed by Embrapa Vegetables, in
2016, based on the main products of the sec-
tor, identified by the Brazilian Institute of Ge-
ography and Statistics (IBGE), at the Munici-
pal Agricultural Survey (PAM) in 2014, show
Minas Gerais at the same level.
The two states had similar results from
the production of seven types of vegetables
that year. Minas Gerais is the leading produc-
er of potatoes, with 1.2 million tons, and the
third biggest producer of tomatoes, where
São Paulo stands out (as the biggest produc-
er of vine-ripened table tomatoes), but ranks
as third in the production of potatoes. How-
ever, Goiás is the leading producer of the for-
mer vegetable, with 1.05 million tons (basical-
ly bush or industrial tomatoes), which made
it to the State in the 1990s. The State is also
known for its watermelons and potatoes.
Regarding the most significant crops
(without mentioning cassava), the States of
Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, in the South
region, stand out in the production of tubers,
where the farmers in Paraná rank as third
biggest producers, while the farmers in Rio
Grande do Sul lead the production of water-
Southeast
Winds
Southeast states are the leading producers of vegetables, along with the South, but areas in
the central region andNortheast are beginning to stand out for their production volumes
Tomatoes and potatoes,
major crops, aremaking
strides inGoiás and Bahia
melons. Both crops, along with onions, put
the northeastern state of Bahia in the produc-
tion limelight, while Santa Catarina stands
out in the production of tubers. Finally, it is
the melon that brings the states of Ceará and
Rio Grande do Norte into the realm of rele-
vant olericulture producers.
The traditional biggest producer, São
Paulo, has suffered the consequences of the
water shortages in recent years, particularly
in tomatoes and onions, says Waldemar Pires
de Camargo Filho, from IEA. However, the
surveys of the institute, in late 2015, identi-
fied strides in production. In the meantime,
as far as revenue goes, due to reduced sup-
plies, there have been expressive variations.
In all, according to preliminary data, the
highlights were table tomatoes and potatoes,
with numbers close to R$ 1.1 billion each,
while fourteen types of vegetables brought
in R$ 3.9 billion (6.3 percent of the total in
the world) representing the biggest increase
among the crops surveyed in the State.
Sílvio Ávila
16
NA LIDERANÇA
Leadership
Fonte:
IBGE/PAM – 2014.
Sudeste
4.694
Sul
3.514
Nordeste
2.567
Minas Gerais
2.132
São Paulo
2.118
Goiás
1.581
Paraná
1.375
Rio Grande do Sul
1.264
Bahia
1.233
Santa Catarina
875
Ceará
441
Rio Grande do Norte
385
Pernambuco
279
Principais regiões e estados na soma
de sete produtos (alho, batata-doce,
batata-inglesa, cebola, melancia,
melão e tomate – Produção emmil t)
