tradicionalmenteinovador - Brazil Buyers & Sellers

Inor Ag. Assmann
The king of the area
>> Tomato is economically the
most important horticultural
crop produced in Brazil and its
destination for industrialization
is gaining momentum
With a share of upwards of 24 percent of total vegetable
supplies in Brazil, the tomato crop contradicted the general
picture of the sector and soared 11.43% in 2009. This happened
because the volume produced (both table and industrial tomatoes)
exceeded 4.3 million tons. The sales value kept pace
with the trend and pushed the commodity to the top position,
previously occupied by the potato crop, reaching almost R$ 6.5
billion. What contributed to this end was the expressive rise in
the price per ton, from R$ 1,090 to R$ 1,500, according to data
released by Embrapa Vegetables, in Brasília (DF).
For 2010, information initially disclosed by the team of the
Hortiftruti department at the Center for Advanced Studies on
Applied Economics, run by the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture,
linked with the University of São Paulo (Cepea/Esalq/
USP), on the leading cultivation regions, attested to the continuity
of the regular 4.6-percent increase in area. The 2010/11
summer season, on the other hand, due to unstable prices as
of July 2010, pointed to similar reductions (4.2%), whilst for the
winter season it reached higher levels (6.3%).
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE),
in its Systematic Agricultural Production Survey, conducted in
May 2011, concluded that the 2010 season, in terms of area
and production, had made a comeback to the levels of the
2008 season, and predicted the maintenance of these levels
throughout 2011. The leading producing regions, with more expressive
planted areas, are located in Itapeva and Mogi-Guaçu,
in the State of São Paulo; Araguari, in Minas Gerais; Caçador, in
Santa Catarina; and Caxias do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul.
The bulk of the Brazilian tomato crop is destined for the
dining table, but the amounts destined for the industry (the socalled
trailing tomatoes) are capturing the attention for their
commercial relevance. The president of the Brazilian Horticultural
Association (BHA), Paulo César Tavares de Melo, also a
professor at the Vegetable Production Department at the Luiz
de Queiroz College of Agriculture (Esalq), a division of the University
of São Paulo (USP), came up with statistical figures of the
year 2010 pointing to a production volume of 1.8 million tons,
up 58% from the year 2000. This increase in volume pushed
Brazil to the fifth position among the top global producers,
earning an official membership status in the World Processing
Tomato Council (WPTC), an organ to which Melo officially
serves as Brazil’s nominated delegate.
The leading tomato producer in Brazil is the State of Goiás,
with 1.466 million tons from a planted area of 16,382 hectares
(yields of 89.5 t/ha). The average productivity in the Country is
up 150% from 1985, a fact that is attributed to the concentra-
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