Banana production recovers in Santa Catarina

The banana harvest in Santa Catarina extends throughout the year, with greater concentration during the summer. This year, the good production and quality of the fruit have provided good results for farmers. According to the Socioeconomics and Rural Development analyst at the Center for Socioeconomics and Agricultural Planning (Epagri/Cepa), Rogério Goulart, the activity is going through a period of recovery since, in 2020, part of the orchards suffered damage due to the passage of a Hurricane.  

With prices at a good level and production on the rise, there was a significant increase in the value of negotiations in national wholesale markets. According to data available in the Agricultural Bulletin for the month of April, the negotiated value of fruit from Santa Catarina in the first three months of the year was R$41,18 million, which represents an increase of 50% compared to the same period in 2022.

Offer

Goulart explains that, in the wholesale market in Santa Catarina, the supply of fruit exceeded 5 thousand tons per month, returning to 2019 levels, before the extreme weather events and the Covid-19 pandemic recorded in recent years. During the health emergency period, when schools remained closed, the demand for bananas was reduced, as many municipalities include the fruit in school lunches.

According to data available on the Observatório Agro Catarinense website, since the 2014/2015 agricultural year, banana production in the State has varied between 719 and 739 thousand tons. The exception is the 2020/2021 harvest, when production was 489 thousand tons due to problems that occurred in banana plantations following the cyclone. 

Currently, according to a survey by the Observatory, the State is responsible for around 40% of the bananas exported by Brazil. The fruit produced in Santa Catarina's main destinations are Argentina and Uruguay, countries that are part of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).