A balance released today (17th) in Brasília by the National Supply Company (Conab) reveals a drop in wholesale prices of fruit and vegetable products such as bananas, oranges, papayas and watermelons, due to greater supply and lower demand on the part of consumers.
The 1st Bulletin of the Brazilian Program for the Modernization of the Horticultural Market (Prohort), however, identified an increase, in the Supply Centers (Ceasas), in potato and tomato prices, partly due to the transition of crops. The January document presents quotations observed in December 2022.
For Conab, the drop in banana prices was mainly influenced by the greater supply of dwarf bananas, favored by rains and temperatures in November in its main producing regions, resulting in the filling of bunches and sales in December and January.
“In the case of silver bananas, we had a controlled offer, but with a high price for silver bananas. There was a slight increase in supply and a drop in prices for dwarf bananas”, explained the deputy manager of horticultural products, Ênio Souza.
papaya and orange
Papaya also had controlled supply, in the case of papaya, while formosa showed a small increase in production in regions of Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará.
“Exports [de mamão] in 2022 they fell mainly because of the low national supply, due to problems in previous years, which resulted in a reduction in the planted area”, argued Souza.
The price of oranges showed a downward trend in consumption – and consequently in price – in most centers analyzed by Conab. According to the company, this drop is due to the fact that December was an atypical month – with the World Cup, at the beginning, and competition with Christmas fruits, at the end of the month, such as plums and peaches.
“Orange prices showed little oscillations, retail supply controlled, due to the good absorption of the fruit by the juice producing industry. So, we have good prospects for the juice industry for export and the prospect of growth in the European market, in addition to conquering more space in the North American market and maintaining the price of juice at high levels”, said the Conab manager.
watermelon and apple
The particularities of December also influenced the price of watermelon and apples. In the case of watermelon, this factor was boosted by the rainier climate, which resulted in a “lower flow of sales, negatively impacting prices”. The price reduction was also determined by the greater supply of this product, especially in São Paulo.
According to Conab, among the fruits analyzed in the document, only apples had high prices in December, with stocks at classification companies being low, which puts pressure on prices.
“For apples, these low inventories were the highlight at the end of 2022, and prices remain high. They just didn’t shoot up due to consumers’ rejection of prices that were already on the rise. There is also the issue of competition with Christmas fruits in December”, added Ênio Souza.
Potato, tomato and lettuce
Conab’s survey identified that, if on the one hand most fruits had a price reduction in December, at the same time potatoes and tomatoes became more expensive.
“In Rio Branco, the increase in tuber prices reached 61.4%. This increase is explained by the completion of the winter harvest and entry, still insufficient to meet demand, of the water harvest”, explained Conab.
A similar situation was observed with tomatoes, where the transition from the winter to the summer crop occurs. “The rise in the weighted average price in December was 18.37% compared to the November average. The current levels of availability of the fruit in the markets do not sustain prices, pushing them upwards”, he justified.
In the case of potatoes, prices are on the rise “in most markets”, with the weighted average price rising 5.71% compared to November. The biggest increases occurred in Ceasas of Rio Branco, in Acre, (61.40%) and Rio de Janeiro (20.38%).
“The increase was not unanimous, and in São Paulo the quotation was 5.75% below November. On the supply side, there was an intensification of the water harvest, especially in Paraná, increasing the entries in the Ceasas”, found the research.
There was also an increase in the price of lettuce, whose quotation was influenced by the climatic conditions of the producing regions. “In addition, with higher temperatures in the summer, the demand for hardwoods tends to increase, keeping prices high”.
On the other hand, onions and carrots showed a downward trend in values. “At Ceasa in Curitiba, the price of the bulb fell 24.86%. A fact worth mentioning is the significant increase in supply from the South Region in December”, detailed Conab.
“In the comparison between December 2022 and the same period in 2021, the southern supply rose by more than 400%. Even with the drop registered last month, given the long period of increase, prices remain at high levels”, he added.
Carrots recorded a 4.81% drop in the weighted average price, compared to the November average. At the national level, the supply rose by 12%, pushing for another drop in prices.
exported fruits
The Conab bulletin also found that, in 2022, the accumulated fruit exports were lower compared to 2021 both in volume and in revenue.
Fruit shipped abroad totals 1.04 million tons, “a drop of 15.9%, while revenues were around US$ 1.08 billion, 11.6% below what was computed in 2021. The pace of sales to the foreign market is explained both by the increase in production costs and by the weather problems in important growing areas that jeopardized fruit production in the country”, concluded the Conab bulletin.
