{"id":370934,"date":"2024-07-29T11:42:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T14:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=370934"},"modified":"2024-07-29T11:42:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T14:42:09","slug":"brazil-among-the-worlds-10-biggest-apple-growers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazil-among-the-worlds-10-biggest-apple-growers\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil among the world\u2019s 10 biggest apple growers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 According to the Brazilian Apple Producers Association (ABPM<\/a>), Brazil ranks among the world\u2019s top 10 biggest apple producers. Despite the prominent position, the two latest harvests saw smaller outlooks due to climate problems. This is expected to change next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2022, there was a very severe drought and hail, so the 2023 harvest was around 950,000 tonnes. Last year\u2019s winter was hotter, thus we harvested less than 850,000 tonnes this year,\u201d says Celso Zancan, foreign market commercial and logistics director at ABPM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2021, when production was normal, for example, we grew 1.3 million tonnes. As 2024\u2019s winter has been colder than the previous years, the 2025 harvest is expected to be more like 2021\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Celso
Celso Zancan, of ABPM, among apple trees: Climate problems affected the last two harvests<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As fruits are being harvested from January to March, most of the Brazilian production is focused on catering to the country\u2019s domestic market. When harvests are good, around 10% of it are exported, which adds up to 100,000-150,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2021, we exported 100,000 tonnes, in 2022 35,000 tonnes, and this year\u2019s [exports] were low as 20,000 tonnes. Besides not being that large, our harvest didn\u2019t have enough quality either. Fruits were small and not that red. As the foreign market is more demanding than Brazil\u2019s, we exported very little in 2024,\u201d says Zancan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia used to rank among our top apple buyers before the war changed this landscape. Our leading apple importer is now Bangladesh, followed by India, and lower in the rank come European countries like Ireland, United Kingdom, and Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExports depend much on the stringency of the country. Sales have grown to India, for instance, because they accept smaller fruits,\u201d the ABPM\u2019s executive adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Zancan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia come after European countries as leading buyers of Brazilian apples. More demanding on the fruit\u2019s color, Arab buyers always require redder apples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more:<\/em>
Brazil grows many fruits, exports few<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of the latest harvests, Brazil ended up not exporting much to these destinations. But there\u2019s growth potential to be tapped. With a good harvest of large, red apples, we would have no problem exporting 5,000-10,000 tonnes to Arab countries, said Zancan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we talk domestic consumption, the state of S\u00e3o Paulo is the country\u2019s largest buyer. \u201cThis happens because it\u2019s the state that has the largest population and the largest purchasing power in the country. Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, and Paran\u00e1 rank after it as leading apple buyer states, and purchases from Center-West states have grown. Northeast states have seen a large consumption in coastal regions,\u201d explained Zancan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brazil’s apple production and exports<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The top two apple varietals grown in Brazil are Fuji and Gala. These farms are exclusively located in the South region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because apples need colder, higher environmental conditions to grow well. Most farms in Rio Grande do Sul, and the rest are in Santa Catarina and Paran\u00e1\u201d, says the foreign market commercial and logistics director at ABPM.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Fuji
Fuji is one of the most produced apple varietals in Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As leaves fall, new ones become dormant to fend off the cold. This defense changes the plant\u2019s hormonal process, and in the spring, when it begins to heat up, it blooms, and the apple is born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zancan explains that to have good apples, a large financial and physical investment is necessary. As the fruit is highly sensitive, it has to be harvested manually. Increasingly scarce labor makes it more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the apples are separated for exports, they are conserved in cold rooms at a near-freezing temperature, and oxygen is at nearly 1%, quite different from how they\u2019re found in nature, at 22-23% oxygen. Fruits packaged inside the cold rooms are then taken into containers where they remain for months. All this is done so that the fruits can reach their destination nice and crunchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report by Rebecca Vettore, in collaboration with ANBA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supplied\/ABPM<\/div>
Supplied\/ABPM<\/div>
\u00a9Isabellle Rozenbaum\/AltoPress\/AFP<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After experiencing two weaker harvests, Brazilian Apple Producers Association expects Brazil to have a better output in 2025, opening up a favorable outlook for exports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2342,"featured_media":370922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[12982,10044,9534,9561,9595,9579,2650],"class_list":{"0":"post-370934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-agribusiness","8":"tag-apple-en","9":"tag-arab-countries-en","10":"tag-brazil-en","11":"tag-exports-en","12":"tag-saudi-arabia-en","13":"tag-uae-en","14":"tag-united-arab-emirates"},"wps_subtitle":"After experiencing two weaker harvests, Brazilian Apple Producers Association expects Brazil to have a better output in 2025, opening up a favorable outlook for exports.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}