Anuário Brasileiro do Arroz 2011 - Unemat

the market. The production of 1.05 million tons is absorbed by
the sector, which imports upwards of 400 thousand tons of rice
from Rio Grande do Sul a year – where almost 9 million tons are
harvested. “For smaller-than-expected crops there is always a solution;
the problem lies in the profits derived by the growers and
in the prices in force since late 2010”, he comments.
In April 2011, a 50-kg sack of rice in the husk was fetching
R$ 20, on average, in South Santa Catarina, although the
cooperative was paying R$ 21. As a rule, Santa Catarina remains
rather immune to the price oscillations in Rio Grande do Sul.
Nonetheless, with the industries of both states competing for the
same market and as prices fell considerably, there was no escape.
“The concentration of almost 75% of the crop in South Brazil and
the pressure coming from the Mercosur supplies, put us all in the
same boat”, the president of Cooperaja acknowledges.
NO TIME WASTED According to Vanir Zanatta, president
of Cooperaja, this is the right moment for the production chain
to do the homework, adjust the course and seek solutions. “We
hope that the mechanisms enacted by the government and the
shipment initiatives will yield good results in the second half of
the year”, he comments. In the meantime, he maintains that it
is essential for the growers to reduce their production costs in the
coming crop. “In 2011, the market will continue lagging behind”,
he anticipates. The Cooperative has 1,100 members and processes
175 thousand tons of the cereal a year, in two industries. In
all, Santa Catarina is home to 62 rice industries. In his view, the
low impact of the commercialization mechanisms, especially of
the Federal Government’s Acquisition Program (AGF’s) and of the
announced option contracts, which had not entered into force by
late April, stem from too much bureaucracy involved, the need
for guarantees and the difficulty in contacting the farmers. And
he regrets the fact that physical persons are not allowed to do
their AGF using their own warehousing facilities. The Premium per
Output Flow (PEP) is the most efficient one at the moment, as
it allows for exporting all surpluses in the Country”, he explains.
A PORTRAIT
Santa Catarina uses the pre-germination method in 99% of its rice fields, involving 8 thousand growers, spread across 65
counties. The remaining one percent of the farmers grows ecology-friendly “native” rice, and alternative varieties for small-scale
family farmers. In the North of the State, many farmers anticipate the pre-germinated crop in order to harvest he second growth
of the crop. After harvesting the first crop, they fertilize the area again and reach productivities upwards of 2,500 kg per hectare.