51
Asprincipais
MAINVEGETABLES
Appetite
stimulant
n
n
n
Areadevotedtotableandprocessingtomatoescontinuedstable
throughout2016,andthebiggercropsignalsproductivitygains
T
he cultivation of table tomatoes
and for the industry inBrazil con-
tinued stable in 2016. The area
surveyed in the main producing
regions totaled 37,398 hectares,
of which, 18,674 hectares of table tomatoes
and 18,724 hectares of tomatoes for the in-
dustry, according to data from the Center for
AppliedStudiesonAdvancedEconomics(Ce-
pea), of the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agri-
culture (Esalq), a division of the University of
de São Paulo (USP). The area devoted to ta-
ble tomatoes went down 2.93% and for pro-
cessing, the area was up 1.55 from the num-
bersreleasedbytheCepeain2015.Theareas
under supervision are located in the main
producing regions in the Southeast, South,
Northeast (Bahia, Ceará, Pernambuco and
Piauí) and theStateof Goiás.
The farm gate price fetched by table to-
matoes oscillates a lot along the year, influ-
enced by the amounts of products that are
produced. According to the survey by theCe-
pea, covering February to November 2016,
prices were down 12% from the prices prac-
ticedinthesameperiodin2015.Inthemean-
time, during thesameperiodof theyear, pro-
duction costs soared 12%, as a consequence
of the higher input prices and the need for
morephytosanitarytreatments,duetoheavy
rains. Because of this, in spite of the positive
average profit margin over the period (21%),
the results remainedbelowthe2015 figures.
Furthermore, the economic crisismade it
more difficult for the table tomato farmers to
haveaccess tocredit lines in2016. The indus-
trialtomatofarmersweregrantedloansofup
to 70% of their production costs, by the pro-
cessing industry. Cepea analysts estimated,
in January 2017, that the cultivation of ta-
ble tomatoes would continue stable along
the year. With regard to industrial tomatoes,
despite the lush crop in 2016, the ending
stocks were supposed to recede consider-
ably until the end of the year. For this rea-
son, there was expectation for a 10-percent
increase in the planted area in 2017. A big-
ger production volume would also reduce
the amount of tomato imports.
INDUSTRIAL |
The production of indus-
trial tomatoes reached 1.45 million tons in
2016. The total area devoted to this type of
tomatoamounted to18,774hectares. These
data were released by agronomic engineer
Rafael de Rezende Sant’ana, from Cargill
and vice-president of the Brazilian Associa-
tion of Tomatoes for Processing (Abratop).
The volume outstripped the 2015 result, but
the area decreased. “The crop was good in
2016, favored by the dry climate, which is
ideal for tomatoes”, he says. The lack of ir-
rigation water ended up jeopardizing the
performance of the crop, which could have
been bigger. On the other hand, the dry
weather conditions contributed towards
productivity and fruit quality.
Until May 2017, weather conditions were
ideal for the development of the crop. Ac-
cording to Sant’ana, the national area was
estimated at 19 thousand hectares and the
crop, at 1.5million tons. The area devoted to
the crop is decided by the processing indus-
try, which acts jointly with the farmers. The
cultivation is defined in accordance with the
expected demand for the processed prod-
ucts. The industry, besides being under obli-
gation to purchase the entire crop, provides
for inputs, technical assistance, harvest (100
percentmechanized) and transport.
According to Sant’ana, the farmers grow
80 hectares with tomatoes, on average, and
95%of themhave a central pivot for their ir-
rigationneeds. For improving theproductiv-
ity levels, the sector continues investing in
the selection of new, more productive hy-
brids and in the technical capacity of the
growers. “The big differential lies in the as-
surance of profits for the farmers, due to
the definition of the costs and the obliga-
tion of the industry to purchase the entire
crop “, says Sant’ana. The consumption of
the processed products soars 3% a year, on
average. The biggest demand is for toma-
to sauces and juices, which require less raw
material than the pulp and extracts. Other
sales that are bound to continue rising are
flavored sauces, light, with a reduced con-
tent of sodium, and gourmet.
lavouras
Previsãoda safrabrasileirade tomate
fields
Ano Produção (toneladas) Área colhida (hectares) Rendimentomédio (Kg/ha)
2015
4.187.729
65.874
65.874
2016
3.737.925
58.548
63.844
2017*
3.967.468
59.882
66.272
Fonte:
LSPA/IBGE *Estimativa – março 2017.
POR DESTINO
Áreadasprincipaisregiõesprodutoras – emhectares
by destination
2015
2016
%
Tomate de mesa
19.237
18.674
-2,93
Tomate indústria
18.439
18.724
1,55
Total
37.676
37.398
Fonte:
Hortifruti/Cepea/Esalq/USP. – * temporada de verão 2015/2016. – ** temporada de verão 2016/17.
