Inor Ag. Assmann
16
OMUNDODO TABACO
theworldof tObacco
Região Sul
SOUTH REGION
Ano Área (ha) Produção (t) Produtividade (kg/ha) Valor (US$/kg e R$/kg)
2016/17*
298.530 705.930
2.365
2,76
8,63
2017/18**
297.460 684.948
2.303
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Diferença
-0,4% -2,97%
-2,62%
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Fonte: Afubra. - * Consolidado. - ** Projeção.
The harvest of the 2017/18 growing season in South Brazil, nowheading into the
final days of 2017, should be smaller than the initial expectations divulged by the
sector, mainly because of climate interferences. The region accounts for 97% of all
tobacco produced in Brazil and for more than 98%of the volume of national leaf ex-
ports. The initial numbers from the Tobacco Growers’ Association of Brazil (Afubra)
projected a reduction of 0.4% in area, to 297,460 hectares, and 2.6% in productivity,
to 2,303 kilograms per hectare. Production, therefore, would drop 3%, to 685 thou-
sand tons, in rounded figures.
Climate changes generated occasional damages, and some regions are estimat-
ing smaller productivity rates, factors that shouldalter theprojection toadownward
trenduntiltheendoftheyear.“Wearedoingthenecessaryevaluationsandfactoring
in the latestmutuality registers so as to obtain a number closer to the reality, but the
total could be somewhat more modest than the initially expected amount”, Afubra
president Benício Albano Werner acknowledges. According to him, the expectation
is for the adjustment of the question of supply and demand to have reflections on
Just
right
After the bigharvest in the 2016/17 growing season
inSouthBrazil, and the frustration in the previous
season, the tobacco supply chainwill adjust the
questionof supply in the 2017/18 crop year
the prices, whichwill be negotiated in early 2018.
According to him, the climate during the har-
vestperiodofthecurrentseasondidnotshowthe
samebehavior as in the2016/17cropyear. During
thatyear,wewerejustemergingfromagreatfrus-
tration caused by the El Niño phenomenon and
from record losses stemming from hailstorms,
with Afubra shelling out almost R$ 122 million in
compensation”, the official recalls.
Considering the three types of tobacco, pro-
ductivity went up 22%, to 2,365 kilograms. Of
course, in part recovering from the drop that oc-
curred because of the adverse climate in the
2015/16 growing season. Prices in 2016, due to
cropfailure,generatedmoreenthusiasmthanthe
marketwasabletoabsorb,afactthataffectedthe
prices. In the 2015/16 crop year, the average price
of a kilogram of tobacco, taking into consider-
ation the three types of tobacco, (Virginia, Burley
and Comum), reached R$ 9.96, generating gross
income of R$ 5.23 billion.
With bigger supplies, the 2016/17 crop year
generated a decrease of 13.3% per kilogram,
which reached an average of R$ 8.63 per kilo-
gram. Butwithmore volumenegotiated, gross in-
come evolved16.4%, toaR$ 6.09billion. Thepro-
duction costs at the 2016/17 crop year in South
Brazil amounted to an average of R$ 20,702.00
per hectare, in Flue-Cured Virginia.
Adjustment is natural
in light of the climate,
stock and price
scenario
