Fruits such as orange, lemon, banana and avocado place the State as a national reference in the sector
The State of Sao Paulo is the undisputed leader in fruit cultivation in the country, according to exclusive data collected by Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA – APTA), an organization linked to the Department of Agriculture and Supply of São Paulo, São Paulo’s production in 2023 was 14.5 million tonnes. It is worth highlighting that Brazil is the world’s third largest producer in this segment, behind only China and India.
Featured fruits: orange, lemon and banana
The crops that see São Paulo as a protagonist in Brazilian fruit growing are orange (10.6 million tonnes), lemon (1.2 million tonnes), banana (1.12 million tonnes), avocado (192 .16 thousand tons) and persimmons (84.23 thousand tons).
For this year, the production estimate, in general, at the state level, is not expected to exceed that achieved in 2023. However, some sectors, individually, may have a higher-than-expected result. “The fruit segment is quite large and presents different behaviors for each crop. Overall there are no signs of major changes in the production area for 2024. According to data released by Hortifruti/Cepea, avocados show increasing demand and the possibility of increasing production”underlined the technical advisor of the Economic Department of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of São Paulo (FAESP), Marina Marangón.
Furthermore, according to the FAESP technical consultant, climatic variations and the purchasing power of rural producers are some of the determining factors for maintaining productivity in the field. “The climate continues to be of concern, as already observed in 2023, the first half year still in which El Niño is ongoing causes high temperatures in the southeast, which can affect the productivity and quality of the fruits. Furthermore, production costs , despite having shown a slowdown in 2023, are still at high levels and limit producers’ investments”, concluded Marina Marangon.
From the countryside to borderless trade
In addition to producing and supplying the domestic market, fruit production in São Paulo also has a significant share in foreign trade. The citrus sector alone exports the equivalent of over 2 billion dollars a year. According to the Citrus Defense Fund (Fundecitrus) report, there are approximately 9,600 properties generating 200,000 jobs in the state.
To maintain this scenario in the citrus fruit supply chain, the government of Sao Paulo intervened Coordination of Agricultural Defense (CDA) of the Department of Agriculture and Supply (SAA), launched a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of the fight Greeninga parasite that affects orange and other citrus fruit plantations and which, if not contained, could compromise production in São Paulo.
In October 2023, the CDA created a direct channel for rural producers to report cases of abandoned or poorly managed orchards. The measure aims to contain the spread of the disease. “Since the launch of the channel we have received and have already started to respond to 65 complaints, where we have already managed to eradicate the diseased plants”, comment Danilo Romaoagronomist and company manager Current state pest quarantine program.
It is worth highlighting that fruit production in São Paulo is expanding and gaining benchmarks on the international scene. Proof of this is that Sao Paulo will host, for the first time, the Fruit attraction 2024, considered one of the main trade fairs in the sector worldwide.
The Department of Agriculture will actively participate in the event, with all technical staff to assist visitors. “Let’s mobilize small producers so that we can involve them in participating in this great goal. Brazil is a country with great opportunities and we want to demonstrate this to producers”, said the executive secretary of the SAA, Edson Fernandes.
Source: Terra
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