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The 2022/2023 irrigated rice harvest in Santa Catarina performed above expectations. According to data collected by the Center for Socioeconomics and Agricultural Planning (Epagri/Cepa), the total quantity produced reached 1,27 million tons, the largest ever recorded in the State. The primary factor for this result was productivity, which was also a record: the average was 8,6 thousand kilos per hectare.
The announcement of the final figures for the 2022/2023 irrigated rice harvest was made during the Santa Catarina Irrigated Rice Harvest State Assessment event, held at the Epagri Experimental Station in Itajaí, on Friday, 22nd. On that occasion, a new rice variety developed by Epagri, SCSBRS126 Dueto, which gained its name for two reasons: due to its dual ability to tolerate low and high temperatures during the reproductive phase and because it was developed through an interinstitutional partnership between Epagri and Embrapa, with the support of UDESC.
According to the Socioeconomics and Rural Development analyst at Epagri/Cepa, Glaucia Padrão, the initial forecast was that productivity would have a small decrease in relation to the previous harvest, as the excess cold, in the second half of 2022, delayed the development of crops a little. However, this delay did not result in a reduction, on the contrary, productivity grew by 1,24%.
Glaucia highlights that this result has even more impact considering that, in the 2021/2022 harvest, the State had already recorded productivity above the historical average. Furthermore, the area planted in the 2022/2023 harvest was practically the same as the last harvest. “Several factors led to this result, especially the adoption of high-performance cultivars, the favorable climate and crop management, with investment in fertilizer and technology”, explains the analyst.
Combined with good production, the prices received by rice producers have remained above costs, which guarantees a profit margin for producers. According to Glaucia, this year there was an atypical movement in the market. In the first five months of the year, when prices traditionally fall, given the increase in supply caused by the beginning of the harvest, prices showed a gradual increase. This upward movement was interrupted from the second half of May, when prices began to fall.
According to the analyst, the reasons for this atypical increase in prices at the beginning of the year were the reduction in estimates for the Rio Grande do Sul harvest, which should record a drop of almost 10% in relation to initial estimates, and the increase in exports. These two factors reduced the supply of grain on the domestic market and, consequently, caused prices to rise.
“The increase in the exchange rate in the first months of the year made Brazilian grain competitive on the foreign market, which resulted in an increase in Brazilian exports”, he explains. However, from the second half of May onwards, the Brazilian currency appreciated in relation to the dollar, which reduced the pace of Brazilian grain exports. “When we associate this with the good performance of the Santa Catarina harvest and the consequent increase in the supply of rice on the domestic market, there is downward pressure on prices”, explains Glaucia. Epagri/Cepa estimates that 87% of production from the 2022/23 harvest has already been sold.
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