tradicionalmenteinovador - Brazil Buyers & Sellers

PANORAMA . Panorama
Produção brasileira de tomate em 2009
Variáveis Unidades Mesa Industrial* Total
Produção mil t 2.971,3 1.339,2 4.310,5
Área mil ha 49,0 18,6 67,6
Produtivid. t/ha 60,6 72,0 63,6
Fonte: IBGE/Levantamento Sistemático da Produção
*Estimativa das indústrias processadoras
Elaboração: Embrapa Hortaliças
>> PROCESSADO . Processed
Desempenho do tomate industrial
Ano
Área
(ha)
Produção
(t)
Produtividade
(t/ha)
1985 16.850 565.000 33,5
1990 27.082 935.400 34,5
1995 20.270 930.000 45,9
2000 14.860 993.500 66,9
2005 15.970 1.214.000 76,0
2010 21.258 1.816.384 85,4
Fonte: Indústrias de processamento
Elaboração: Paulo César Tavares de Melo (USP)
tion of the crop in the Cerrado region, plus the use of hybrid
varieties of high productive potential, besides the integrated
production system adopted by the processing companies,
whereby they finance the necessary inputs for the crop.
In the words of the BHA official, the sector is experiencing
a moment of significant growth, while the State of Goiás has
consolidated its position as a major tomato agro-processing
hub in Brazil and South America. Of the 23 factories focused
on the segment, 12 are located in municipalities throughout
Goiás. There is tight competition in the area, comprising approximately
300 different brands and hefty investments in the
segment of food service, as well as in modern packaging. Comparing
the year 2000 to 2010, the manufacturing of tomatobased
products jumped from 350 thousand tons to 530 thousand
and the value almost doubled, soaring from R$ 1.1 billion
to R$ 2.1 billion.
>> DEMAND ON THE RISE USP professor and president
of BHA, Paulo César Tavares de Melo, cites data released
by ACNielsen, a company of the sector, which confirm that
tomato-based products are the seventh most important nonperishable
foods on the Brazilian dining tables. The consumption
of tomato-based foods has been rising steadily over the
past years, which, in turn, exerts a substantial influence on the
ever-increasing imports of tomato paste concentrate, as well
as finished products.
Imports exceeded 61 thousand tons in 2010, representing
an increase of 789% from 2006, to make up for the deficits of
raw material, which remained at 1.2 million tons over the period,
on average. The highly favorable exchange rate was also a
factor in this process. Within this scenario, Melo observes, what
comes in is the excellent crop in 2010. Nonetheless, if on the one
hand it demonstrated the interest of the companies in the expansion
of the national supplies of tomatoes to the industries,
on the other hand, it generated surpluses that could have an influence
on the planned reductions in planted area in the 2011
crop year. As to exports, the same exchange rate policy that
has been pushing up imports is responsible for the companies’
week competitiveness in the second half of the decade.
The BHA official stresses that, side by side with the conquests
achieved by the Country, there are bottlenecks that need to be
surmounted, as they are threatening both the sector’s sustainability
status and its expansion initiatives. He understands that
the great challenge of the sector consists in continuing making
strides in technology-oriented cultural practices, seeking
progress in productivity and quality, whilst reducing production
costs and boosting profits. All these factors should be in
line with environmental preservation concerns, which include
the rational use of water for irrigation and careful agrochemical
applications. He also raises the question of the industries’
processing capacity, in light of last year’s losses induced by this
factor, and the imbalance between offer and demand of energy,
a problem that requires immediate action from the government.
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