As principais
MAINVEGETABLES
EFFECTS ON CONSUMPTION
Domestic consumption of potatoes dropped in 2015 due to soaring prices at consumer level. Consultant Paulo Popp says that, in certain su-
permarkets, potatoes were selling for R$ 10 a kilogram, while average prices rarely fell below R$ 5 per kilo. “The producers are not to blame for
this situation. Production kept pace with consumption”, he says. It is likely that rice, cassava and sweet potatoes filled the potato gap on the
Brazilian dining tables in 2015. The economic crisis had a bigger influence upon chips and shoestring fries. Pre-fried potatoes suffered a minor
reduction. However, frozen potatoes had a good performance in imports and in local production.
Brazil’s potato imports exceed exports. Foreign purchases totaled 311.35 thousand tons in 2015, according to data released by the Secretar-
iat of Foreign Trade (Secex), of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC). According to Paulo Popp, the Brazilian indus-
tries purchased their fresh potatoes from Argentina and Holland in 2015. In 2016, there will be an increase in the imports of potato seed, while
frozen and pre-fried potatoes are supposed to be a repeat of the previous year.
Productivity of the
vegetable dropped due to
excessive rainfall in 2015
Inor Ag. Assmann
35
