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The depreciation of the real against the
dollar has been the mainspring of export
crops, like corn and soybean. This situation
is a hurdle for sorghum, which has a restrict-
ed market abroad, inducing the farmers to
shift to other crops. The consequence is a re-
duction in the area devoted to this crop, fol-
lowed by smaller volumes. According to an
estimate by the National Food Supply Agen-
cy (Conab), the area devoted to the crop in
2015 reaches 610 thousand hectares, against
722 thousand in the previous year. The size
of the crop should reach 1.447 million tons,
with productivity rates of 2,372 kilos per
hectare. In the previous growing season,
production reached 2.055 million tons, with
an average of 2,998 kilograms per hectare.
According to economist Leandro Mene-
gon Corder, market analyst at Conab, the
cultivation of sorghum in Brazil has been
receding, especially because of its low pro-
ductivity and hardly any research work on it,
if compared to corn, which is economical-
ly more viable. Despite sorghum’s higher re-
sistance to unfavorable weather conditions,
the activity is left aside by most farmers. “For
2017, with a delay in the first crop, whilst ap-
proaching the risky period for the second
crop, could induce the farmers to end up
opting for sorghum, as a manner to mini-
mize risks, seeking a smaller percentage of
crop failures”, he articulates.
On the subject of questions related to the
market, Corder insists that prices depend, ba-
sically, on the prices fetched by corn. This hap-
pens because sorghum is a crop that replac-
es corn, but enjoys hardly any preference,
besides its lower energy content. “Prices have
skyrocketed in recent years, simply because
of shortages of this kernel in Brazil, as the de-
preciated exchange rate stimulated corn ex-
ports”, he comments. Corder equally points
to the crop failure anticipated for the Center-
West, caused by the lack of timely rainfalls, as a
factor that pushes up sorghumprices.
Besides the present levels of value of the
cereal, another conquest to be celebrat-
ed by the supply chain are the new vari-
eties that will be tested, and are likely to
add more competitiveness to the product.
At present, sorghum is very common in re-
gions likely to experience dry spells, and
when there are planting delays, when corn
crops run big risks under such conditions.
Recently, studies have been conducted on
the consumption of sorghum as food for
humans, a fact that could boost the de-
mand for this crop, whose taste is neu-
ter and does not contain gluten, turning
it into a good choice for celiac sufferers.
A place in the sun
Grain is still lagging far behind corn, but its rusticity and
resistance make a difference in difficult years for agriculture
Produção de sorgo no Brasil
VOCAÇÃO
Vocation
Fonte:
Conab, junho de 2016.
Região
Área (mil/ha) Produtividade (kg/ha) Produção (mil t)
Norte
25,9
1.526
39,5
Nordeste
101,6
1.095
111,3
Centro-Oeste
310,8
2.682
833,5
Sudeste
162,8
2.682
436,7
Norte/Nordeste
127,5
1.183
150,8
Centro-Sul
482,6
2.686
1.296,6
País
610,1
2.372
1.447,4
