The Brazilian states responsible for forwarding the largest quantities of fruit to the foreign market are in the Northeast region. This is what the survey carried out by the Brazilian Association of Fruit Exporters (Abrafrutas) points out, which shows Pernambuco, Bahia, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte as the states that sent the most
fruit abroad. There were 780 million dollars in exports from the fruit segment in 2021.
Northeast states lead fruit exports
According to the ranking analyzed in a report produced for Agência Tatu, Pernambuco has established itself as the largest fruit exporter in the country, mainly due to the city of Petrolina, which is a national reference in terms of
fruit growing. The city, which is in the region known as Vale do São Francisco, is a major producer of grapes, guavas and mangoes. Last year alone, revenue of US$ 244 million was recorded in exports
of fruit in the state.
Bahia is the second largest producer and exporter in Brazil and, in 2021, US$ 191 million were raised in fruit sales for foreign trade. The state is a national agricultural hub
in the cultivation and shipment of mangoes, mainly to Europe and the United States.
Ceará, on the other hand, had an increase in foreign sales, going from fifth place in 2020 to third in 2021, when it had revenues of US$ 178 million from the sale of melons, mangoes, watermelons, among other fruits to destinations such as the United States. , Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The fourth position goes to Rio Grande do Norte, which collected US$ 167 million in exports in 2021, especially melon, as the state is the largest national producer and exporter of the fruit.
For agronomist José Eduardo Brandão, states are increasingly looking to sell their products abroad. “It is worth mentioning the development of fruit growing in the region, especially in states like Bahia, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte that, even with the climatic difficulties faced year after year, the
producers have invested with a focus on the foreign market”.
Recently, in February of this year, Brazil opened the foreign market even more, with the first shipment of melons to China. According to Siscomex – Integrated Foreign Trade System, about 3.5 tons of fruit landed at Shanghai Airport.
Brazil grows slowly in the foreign market
According to the survey carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2020, Brazil is the third largest producer of fruit in the world, behind only China and India. Each year, the country has about 4.5% of the total world production, which represents about 39 million tons.
However, if Brazilian fruit production is highlighted on the world stage, when it comes to exports, the country occupies the 26th position in the ranking. This divergence in numbers is due to several factors, including phytosanitary barriers established by other countries.
“Fruits are in natura products characterized as having a high phytosanitary risk, that is, they have great potential to bring new pests to the countries that receive them. Therefore, countries increasingly place requirements to standardize the quality of the product”, explained Edilene Cambraia, who works at MAPA with negotiation of requirements
phytosanitary.
Even in this scenario, it is possible to notice the country’s growth in terms of exports. In 2021, for example, Brazil shipped around 1.2 million tons of fruit to the foreign market, 18% more than
compared to the previous year, with revenues of US$1.060 billion. One of the reasons is due to the appreciation of the American currency against the real, according to Abrafrutas.
Exports of national fruits in 2021 had as main destinations the European Union (48%), the United States (16%), the United Kingdom (14%), Argentina (4%) and Canada (3%).
“Possibly, the resumption of the world economy and the search for healthy food in a pandemic environment. In addition, we have to highlight the quality of Brazilian products, as well as the proximity to the
biggest buyer”, analyzed the general coordinator of Statistics and Commercial Analysis of the Secretariat of Commerce and International Relations (SCRI) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), Gustavo Cupertino.
See the most exported Brazilian fruits in 2021
Mango was the most exported Brazilian fruit in 2021, according to Brazilian Agribusiness Foreign Trade statistics (Agrostat/Mapa). The fruit had revenues of US$ 248 million, which represents an increase of 0.3% in relation to the previous year. Then came the melon (US$ 165 million), grapes (US$ 155 million) and lemon (US$ 123 million).
The national product that had the greatest growth in the overall ranking was apple, with an increase of 79% in relation to 2020 exports, from US$ 41 million to US$ 155 million. On the other hand, oranges had a reduction in exports of 78%, going from a revenue of US$ 4.2 million to just US$ 953 thousand.
source: tribunahoje.com
