The wheat harvest officially opens in Rio Grande do Sul

The wheat harvest in Rio Grande do Sul was officially opened this Friday (16/10) in Cruz Alta. The ceremony, on the campus of the University of Cruz Alta (Unicruz), was attended by the state secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr), Covatti Filho, who represented the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul at the ceremony.

“We already have 18% of the area harvested in Rio Grande do Sul at the moment and our expectation is for a good harvest, as Emater estimated for this year”, said Covatti Filho.

In the opinion of the manager of Emater/RS-Ascar in the Ijuí region, Carlos Turra, wheat is a good business, especially when implemented with a view to improving soil fertility. “Wheat cultivation, integrated into crop rotation systems, effectively contributes to maintaining and improving the chemical and physical fertility of the soil, controlling diseases, pests and weeds and increasing the efficiency of use of machinery, labor and inputs on rural properties, being fundamental for the sustainability of Brazilian agriculture”, said Turra.

Also participating in the event were federal deputy Pedro Westphalen, who represented the Federal Chamber, president of the Sector Chamber of the Winter Crop Production Chain, Hamilton Jardim, regional coordinator of Seapdr, Uilian Cargnelutti, president of the Fenatrigo Association, Airton Becker, president of the 16th Fenatrigo, Moacir Medeiros, and rector of Unicruz, Fábio Dal Soto.

Numbers

The Emater/RS-Ascar projection points to a 20,34% growth in the area (915,7 thousand hectares) cultivated with wheat this harvest, in relation to last year's harvest (760,9 thousand hectares). Regarding production, the first estimate is that Rio Grande do Sul's crops should produce 2.189.837 tons, which represents 4,23% less than the 2.286.672 tons harvested last year, according to IBGE. The average price for a 60-kilo bag, practiced in the week of October 12th to 16th in Rio Grande do Sul, is R$62,13.

In Cruz Alta, there are 18 thousand hectares cultivated with the grain. In the expectation of Emater/RS-Ascar rural extension officer, Larissa dos Reis, three thousand kilos per hectare should be harvested.

In the world, the trend is also for growth in wheat area, 0,8% in the 2019/2020 harvest compared to the previous harvest, totaling 217,2 million hectares. In relation to production, the expansion was in the order of 4,5%, totaling 764,5 million tons, following the upward trend in global wheat consumption (752 million tons) according to a report released in February/2020, by the Department of Agriculture of the United States (USDA).

World wheat production in the 2020/2021 harvest is estimated by the USDA at 773,1 million tons, an increase compared to the previous harvest, when 764,5 million tons were produced.

Brazil remains in 16th place in the ranking of the world's largest producers, with production estimated by the USDA at 5,2 million tons of wheat. The five largest producers in the world are the European Union (154 million/t), China (133,5 million/t), India (103,6 million/t), Russia (73,6 million/t) and the United States (52,2 .XNUMX million/t).

Brazil is an important global producer, with production estimated by Conab at 6,8 million tons of wheat in 2020.