10
Tomatoes (
Lycopersicon esculentumMill
.)
are one of themain vegetable crops produced
in Brazil, and reach themarket in fresh or pro-
cessed form. The plant, whose origin goes
back to the Andes, occupied by the Incas in
Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, is also one of the
most consumed in the world. When the Span-
ish arrived in America, late in the 15th century,
this vegetable was produced in Mexico and in
several other countries in Central and South
America. The fruit was called tomati or jitoma-
ti by the indigenous people inMexico.
Taken to Europe, tomatoes were first
grown in the old continent in the 16th centu-
ry, but it was only in the 19th century that they
became popular and consumption went up
greatly. According to Embrapa Vegetables ru-
ral economist Nirlene Junqueira, the produc-
tion of tomatoes in Brazil started in the Green
Belt in São Paulo in the 1920s, in the region
of Mogi das Cruzes. The species, of the sola-
naceous family, was first processed in artisanal
formby family enterprises in São Paulo.
Halfway through the 20th century, three
tomato paste processing plants were oper-
ating in Monte Alto (SP), and they processed
80%of the entire regional production, and the
remaining portion was destined for fresh con-
sumption. The industry picked up steamwith
themodernization of Brazilian agriculture, sta-
bilizing in the 1960s and expanding to the
Northeast in the following decade. Current-
ly, the production of tomatoes in Brazil is well
structured, especially in the Center-West.
In the Cerrado region, agroindustrial pro-
duction gained momentum in the 1990s,
AMAZINGFACTS
ABOUT TOMATOES
* Although being popular in Italy, toma-
toes did not originate from Europe, but
fromtheAndes region. Theplants canbe
of determined growth (dwarf varieties) or
undetermined, up to2.5meters tall.
* Although many people think tomatoes
are legumes, as they are served as salad,
they are in fact a fruit type vegetable, in
spiteof theirnon-sweet taste.
* The fruit that is one of the most con-
sumed vegetables in the world, belongs
to the solanaceous family, which com-
prises red pepper, egg-plant, potato and
tobacco.
* Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C
and are a good source of complex B vita-
minslikecalcium,potassiumandmagne-
sium. Their lycopene content is believed
towardoff certainstrainsof cancer.
Legacy of the incas
Althoughbeingpopular in Italy, tomatoesarenativetotheAmericas. Their
origingoesbacktotheAndes, fromwherethecropspreadacrosstheworld
when the states of Pernambuco, Bahia and
Paraíba faced successive disease outbreaks,
which ruined the tomato growing business
in the Northeast. Many companies shut down
their plants and left the region in pursuit of
new opportunities. Now, the biggest volumes
of tomatoes for industrial purposes are pro-
duced in Goiás, São Paulo andMinas Gerais.
The agroindustrial tomato chain alone ac-
counts for businesses that amount to almost
R$ 3.2 billion. Along with table tomatoes, the
sector is known for its relevant social econom-
ic role, especially because of the generation of
jobs and income in all divisions of the respec-
tive links. The book Production of tomatoes
for industrial processing, by Embrapa Vegeta-
bles, highlights the intense need for labor in
the entire process. It is estimated that, from
soil preparation to harvest, four or five work-
ers are needed per hectare a year.
