São Paulo – This year, tomato should generate greater income in the city of Itapeva and surrounding areas, in the interior of the state of São Paulo. According to figures disclosed by the São Paulo state government, the value of production in the region covered by the Itapeva Rural Development Office (EDR), which includes the cities of Apiaí, Barra do Chapéu, Bom Sucesso de Itararé, Buri, Guapiara, Itaberá, Itaóca, Itapirapuã Paulista, Itararé, Nova Campina, Ribeira, Ribeirão Branco, Riversul and Taquarivaí should reach 444 million Brazilian reals (US$ 251 million).
The growth in income should reach 94% over the previous year, when 228.8 million reals (US$ 129 million) were made. The region is in the southeast of the state of São Paulo, where Brazil’s largest table tomato crops may be found and, according to agronomist Vandir Daniel da Silva, from the Integral Technical Assistance Coordination (Cati) of Itapeva, Vandir Daniel da Silva, the main cultivation areas are Apiaí, Ribeirão Branco, Guapiara and Itapeva.
"Tomato production is growing, mainly in Itapeva, and large international companies are arriving for production,” said the engineer, regarding companies operating in other regions of the country and seeking new areas.
According to him, it is this growth in production, due to new cultivation projects, that is increasing revenues generated by tomatoes. Itapeva and its surrounding area produces table tomatoes, appropriate for consumption in the raw form.
According to Silva, both cultivation and crops are manual, so the activity generates employment for several families in the region. The region does not cultivate tomatoes for industrial use.
The tomato cultivated in the region is taken to distributors in São Paulo, Campinas, Presidente Prudente and Curitiba, said Silva. The product is not exported. “It is highly perishable, so cannot travel long distances,” said the agronomist. In fact, Brazil almost doesn’t export fresh tomatoes. This year up to September, for example, the country shipped abroad just US$ 27,000 in tomatoes, against US$ 648,000 in the same period in 2010. The figures were disclosed by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
Appropriate areas
According to the Cati agronomist, tomatoes may be harvested all year round, except in the cold months, June and July, due to frost. According to the Agriculture and Supply secretary of Itapeva, Cassiano Toffoli de Oliveira, small farmers, however, only harvest in the summer, when production demands fewer pesticides and fertilization. In the wet season, for example, the culture faces problems like pests, as moths like to lay their eggs in tomatoes.
According to figures disclosed by the Agricultural Economics Institute (IEA-APTA) of the Agriculture and Supply Secretariat of the State of São Paulo, tomatoes represent 25.87% of agricultural production in Itapeva and surrounding areas. In total, agriculture and livestock production should generate 1.7 billion reals (US$ 961 million) in the region. Last year, tomatoes participated with 18.26% and total production generated 1.2 billion reals (US$ 678 million).
The average price per 25 kilogram box of tomatoes produced in the state in 2010 was 20.02 Brazilian reals (US$ 11.30), according to the study, and should reach 31.53 reals (US$ 17.80) in 2011. Specialists explain that the price of the product varies much according to the demand and oscillates from one day to the next, if, for example, there is a holiday.
*Translated by Mark Ament
