Brasília – The Gross Production Value (GPV) of the 20 main crops in Brazil should reach 199 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 126 billion) this year. The revenue estimate, made using figures surveyed up until June by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, is 10.4% higher than the result recorded in 2010, which was 180.38 billion reals (US$ 114.6 billion), and is a new record. The highest figure to date was recorded in 2008, when the GPV reached 183.61 billion reals (US$ 116.7 billion).
According to the coordinator of Strategic Planning at the ministry, José Garcia Gasques, the favourable result will be due to three main factors: higher prices of agricultural products, higher yield and a record crop volume.
According to the ministry, the products whose GPV grew the most were cotton (67.7%), grape (46.3%), coffee (38%), maize (29.8%), soy (17.1%), cassava (11%) and bean (10.2%). Soy has the highest share in revenues from Brazilian crops, at 55 billion reals (US$ 35 billion, followed by sugarcane (30 billion reals, or US$ 19 billion), maize (23.5 billion reals, or US$ 14.9 billion) and coffee (22 billion reals, or US$ 13.9 billion). Cotton had the highest increase in gross value, from 3.2 billion reals (US$ 2 billion) last year to 5.3 billion reals (US$ 3.3 billion) this year.
The GPV of some products, however, has declined, as is the case with onion (-62.4%), which should generate revenues of 752 million reals (US$ 478 million) this year; potato (-24.6% and a GPV of 2.9 billion reals, or US$ 1.8 billion), and wheat (-16.8% and a GPV of 2.2 billion reals, or US$ 1.4 billion).
The production value surveys began in 1997, and use figures supplied by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and the National Supply Company (Conab). The GPV refers to farm income and comprises the following crops: soy, sugarcane, grape, peanut, maize, coffee, rice, cotton, banana, potato, onion, bean, tobacco, cassava, black pepper, wheat, tomato, cocoa, orange and castor seed.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
