tradicionalmenteinovador - Brazil Buyers & Sellers

Potatoes emerge as front runners
in Brazilian horticulture and with three
crops a year, they occupy by far the biggest
planted area, which in 2009, latest
data available, reached 139 thousand
hectares, down slightly from the previous
year, according to data released
by the Brazilian Institute of Geography
and Statistics (IBGE) and Embrapa Vegetables,
in Brasília (DF). For 2010 and
2011, the Systematic Agricultural Production
Survey, conducted by the IBGE
and disclosed in May 2011, pointed to
a recovery in planted area, projected
to reach 142 thousand hectares and
151 thousand, respectively, thanks to
the better prices in the previous crops,
which had receded in size due to climatic
problems.
The value of the production also
stands out in this crop, with the prospect
for a total of R$ 4.3 billion in 2009.
But what is really noteworthy in this
crop is its socioeconomic importance,
particularly in terms of job generation,
where the sector is a leader, offering 1.2
million opportunities.
The production of potatoes, according
to the official numbers in 2009, remained
at 3.44 million tons, but with
projected increases for the following
years, with estimates pointing to the
possibility to outstrip the record 2008
crop, when 3.8 million tons were harvested.
The Southeast, particularly
the State of Minas Gerais, boasts the
biggest share in the total production
volumes, mostly concentrated in the
southern portion of the State, Triângulo
Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba, besides areas
like Várzea Grande (SP). The crop is
also widely spread across the southern
states of Brazil.
The total planted area was bigger
in the 1970s, when it reached upwards
of 200 thousand hectares, but then priority
was given to productivity, which
soared significantly over the subsequent
years. In three decades, yields
improved 132% or more. According to
researchers Waldemar Pires de Camargo
Filho and Felipe Pires de Camargo,
of the Agricultural Economy Institute
and Agribusiness Technology Agency
of São Paulo (IEA-Apta), production
technology was improved and new areas
were devoted to the crop in Goiás
(second crop) and in Bahia (third crop),
where production costs are lower, climate
conditions are stable and irrigation
is available.
>> FROM ABROAD Although
celebrating high production volumes,
potatoes are always a major item in the
annual imports of horticultural products,
which also include the purchase of
potato seed from abroad. In 2010, the
crop ranked first in horticulture imports,
with 276 thousand tons, much below
last year’s 173 thousand tons. Major imports
include frozen pre-fried potatoes,
semi-fresh or frozen. For this reason, the
recommendation is for expanding the
industrial processing operations of potatoes
produced in Brazil.
This is one of the ways to boost the
consumption of the Brazilian crop,
which is also a front runner in this specific
matter. Nonetheless, there has
also been a reduction in the amount
consumed, which, according to IBGE
surveys, conducted from 2002 to 2008,
dropped from 5.27 to 4.04 kilos per
person/year, in the case of the Irish potato,
or with the inclusion of the nonspecified
data, from 6.56 to 5.60 kilos.
This fact suggests alternatives to allure
consumers who want the traditional
potato in their diets.
Inor Ag. Assmann
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