Emater-MG notices drop in vegetable prices in CeasaMinas

Food inflation has been decreasing in recent months, according to the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), an indicator that is Brazil's official inflation, released by IBGE. In August, the Food and beverages group fell for the third consecutive month, with a reduction of 0,85%. The same trend was observed in a survey by Emater-MG with CeasaMinas of wholesale prices for some of the main vegetables, practiced in the months of July and August.

According to the research, the biggest drop was in the price of lettuce, whose average price per kilo dropped from R$6,14 in July to R$4,38 in August (a 40,1% reduction). Potatoes (-22,3%), cabbage (-26,9%) and carrots (-22,2%) also had strong drops. In the case of long-life tomatoes, the average value per kilo fell 14,7%, from R$3,97 to R$3,46. “In the case of potatoes, there was an increase in supply in wholesale markets for the product from one month to the next, from 14.845 tons in July to 16.606 in August, according to CeasaMinas at the Contagem warehouse. The same happened with table tomatoes, whose supply rose from 7.641 tons in July to 8.222 tons in August. The greater supply in wholesale markets led to the prices of these products falling during the period”, analyzes the technical coordinator of Olericulture at Emater-MG, Georgeton Soares.

Effects of inflation

However, the survey also found a price increase in some products such as Italian zucchini (+6,6%) and onion (+5,1%). The research also revealed that in an annual comparison - prices charged in the months of July and August 2022 compared to July and August 2023 - the increase caused by inflation in prices remains quite significant. Despite recent drops, the average price of tomatoes, for example, is 54,10% more expensive (average for July and August 2023) than the average price in July and August last year.

The same occurred with carrots, which presented an average price in July and August 2023, 51,6% higher than the average price observed in the same months of 2022. “So despite the recent drops, the price of wholesale vegetables, on average , are bigger than last year. In 2022, there was a spike in production costs, due to the sharp rise in fertilizer prices due to the war in Ukraine. Now these expenses have fallen a little, but the situation may have affected the scheduling of vegetable planting in 2023”, argues Georgeton.

Challenges

In the opinion of the Emater-MG coordinator, the maintenance of vegetable prices at higher levels, when comparing 2022 to 2023, could be one of the factors that hindered the population's acquisition of these foods. “We believe that there may have been a drop in people’s purchasing power. This generates a substitution of food, that is, the exchange for a cheaper one. Unfortunately, Brazilians still have a low consumption of vegetables as a eating habit and, when prices rise, many people simply stop consuming these products”, laments the Emater-MG coordinator.

Currently, producers' concerns turn to climate issues. Meteorological forecasts of the arrival of a super El Niño (a phenomenon of significant changes in the water surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean) could cause heavy rains and major heat waves in the coming months. “We have to wait and see what the impacts of the phenomenon will be. Generally, the end of the year and beginning of the following year is a bad time for vegetable production, due to the higher incidence of rain. The phytosanitary issue becomes more complicated, as vegetables are generally planted in open fields. But it is still too early to assess what the effects of El Niño will be in terms of vegetable production”, explains the Emater-MG coordinator.