Crop cultivated by the native Indian tribes
in the Brazilian territory, cassava still posi-
tioned the Country as leading global produc-
er in the 20th century, with volumes of 30mil-
lion tons. Now, approximately 23million tons
and grown in all states, it occupies the fourth
position in the world and, included in the
realm of olericulture, it is by far the main crop
in theCountry. The activity ismarkedby succes-
siveoscillations, which, according toMethodio
Groxko, economist at the Rural Economy De-
partment (Deral), of the Paraná State Agricul-
ture Secretariat, occur due to such factors as
“reduction in animal consumption, climate
variations in the Northeast and low prices”.
Cycles of ups and downs, and low prices
are present in this crop. “After a longer peri-
od of remunerative prices, the cassava supply
chain was confronted with an unprecedent-
ed crisis in 2015”, commented the analyst
from Paraná, State that ranks as second big-
gest producer of this root and responsible for
two thirds of all starch derived from it. Offer
had decreased in 2013, with climate prob-
lems in the Northeast, a fact that improved
the remuneration of the sector and encour-
aged the farmers to plant. Availability went up,
the industry was unable to absorb the entire
volume and prices dropped.
Purchases by the federal government, al-
though coming rather late, made prices react in
the second half of the year, along with reward-
ing starch sales abroad, the biggest volume in
12 years. Anyway, although detecting advanc-
es in his surveys, the Deral technician considers
the share in the international market little rep-
resentative, if compared with Thailand, second
biggest global producer, and encompasses 85%
of the global market. “There is need to improve
exports, reduce the idle hours at the starch in-
dustries and boost domestic consumption, as a
manner to minimize ups and downs and keep
the supply chain stable”, saysMethodio.
Nevertheless, he already spots signs of soar-
ing domestic demand for this rawmaterial as a
component in such products as cheese bread
and tapioca, besides a possible bigger value as
food with fiber and without gluten. He equal-
ly has it that in the medium run, there are per-
spectives for a resumptionof theuptrend in the
consumption of cassava starch, which is a com-
ponent of several industrial items, including
food items and paper, textiles and chemistry. In
2016, he ascertains the need for resuming im-
ports, in light of the projected smaller crop and
predictable higher prices.
Ups and
downs
Expressive and traditional across the Country, cassava crops are exposed
to oscillations, brought about by various factors, like climate and market
54
Fonte:
IBGE * Previsão LSPA, fevereiro de 2016.
Fonte:
Cepea/USP-Deral/Seab/PR-Secex/MDIC.
Números da produção de mandioca no Brasil
Maiores estados produtores/2014
Números do amido de mandioca
O TAMANHO DA RAIZ
The size of the root
Ano
Área (ha)
Produção (t)
2014
1.567.683
23.242.064
2015
1.494.498
22.756.807
2016*
1.528.978
23.057.673
Pará
344.323
4.914.831
Paraná
157.187
3.958.798
Bahia
193.750
2.131.473
Produção de fécula
2013 – 474 mil t
2014 – 645 mil t
Exportação de fécula
2014 – 5,9 mil t
2015 – 21,6 mil t
Exportação de amidos modificados
2014 – 29,5 mil t
2015 – 30,6 mil t
