H
orticulture in Brazil has stabi-
lized at a low level in the peri-
od of the activity in Brazil. This
fact is confirmed by statistics
from 2011 to 2015, with signs
similar to situations in some crops in 2016.
It results either from hostile weather condi-
tionsatdifferentmoments,orfromthepres-
ent unstable political and economic scenar-
io. In the expectation for improvements in
these fields, although still uncertain, in early
2017 there were signs pointing to the recov-
ery of some crops of the segment.
“The blame for the smaller area de-
voted to vegetables, and the resulting de-
crease in production over the past years,
go to the instability of the Country, to un-
employment and to the declining purchas-
ing power of the population and, in paral-
lel, to the high production costs, alongwith
cash-strapped farmers”, comment Edson
Takeshi Matsusako and agronomic engi-
neer José Daniel Ribeiro, respectively pres-
ident and fiscal counselor of the Brazilian
Horticulture Institute (Ibrahort), based in
SãoPaulo. Tax and labor questions are also
Low
tide
n
n
n
Areadevotedtoolericulture inBrazilhasbeenshrinkingover
thepastyears,andsohastheproductionofvegetables,
andtheblamegoestodecliningdemandandhighproductioncosts
Climatealsoaffectsthesector,which,nevertheless,
foreseestherecoveryofvegetablecrops
a headache for any administrator of a rural
property and, as a result, induce the farm-
ers to reduce their planted areas.
OfficialsoftheBrazilianConfederationof
Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), in an eval-
uation of the sector in 2016, ratified higher
costsininputs,undertheinfluenceoftheex-
change rate, and lower consumptionpower,
besidesreferringtoreflectionsoftheclimate
on production, as it had already occurred in
previous growing seasons. They mentioned
excessive precipitation, cold weather and
frost conditions in the South, and droughts
in theNortheast.Withproductionon thede-
cline, they recalled, prices soared, further in-
fluencing consumption. Data collected by
Embrapa Vegetables, from 2011 to 2015,
confirmthat only crop prices evolved.
For 2017, at the turn of the year, CNA of-
ficials expressed their belief that the prob-
lems would not discourage the farmers.
Citing the examples of medium-scale and
commercial investors in the past decade
in regions like Cristalina (Goiás), São Gotar-
do (Minas Gerais) and Chapada Diamantina
(Bahia), they believed in the willingness of
the farmers to continue investing in techno-
logical innovations existing in the segment,
with the purpose to improve the productiv-
ity and the competitiveness of the business.
Ibrahort officials, in turn, realized in ear-
ly April 2017 that there were projections
for an economic recovery, but at a slower
pace compared to the recovery previous-
ly projected. Nevertheless, they registered
more positive perspectives as far as pro-
duction costs go, with advances in produc-
tivity and stable input prices. The represen-
10
Inor Ag. Assmann
as maiorais
Rankingdasprincipais
hortaliçasnoBrasil(2015,em%
dototal,excluídamandioca)
1. Tomate
23,4
2. Batata
21,7
3. Melancia
11,9
4. Cebola
8,1
5. Cenoura
4,3
6. Batata-doce
3,3
7. Melão
2,9
8. Alho
0,7
Fonte:
IBGE-Faostat/Embrapa Hortaliças.
the big ones
