Event highlights canola growth potential

Growing demand for bran and oil consumption and the availability of more than 8 million hectares of underutilized areas for grain cultivation are opportunities to explore the potential of canola in Brazil. This was the message presented at the XI Canola Course, held by Embrapa Trigo e Abrascanola, on March 21, in Passo Fundo, RS.

According to the director of Celena Alimentos, Emilio Figer, the Brazilian industry can absorb at least one million tons of canola per year, however production in 2018 totaled only 50 thousand tons. According to him, the volume produced meets only 50% of Brazilians' demand for canola oil for human consumption, without considering the biofuels market and other uses.

On the world stage, soybean oil represents 30% of consumption, while canola oil accounts for 14% of the market share. The largest consumer market for canola oil is in Europe, where awareness of the consumption of healthy foods is growing, as is the level of consumer demand. “In Brazil we have to combat malicious myths about the quality of canola oil, with falsehoods that the plant is toxic, that it is harmful to health, and even saying that canola is not a plant. We consulted experts on several occasions who have never observed this type of behavior anywhere else in the world, and recognize canola as the best option among the oilseeds used in human food”, says Emilio Figer. He admits, however, that in Brazil the greater consumption of soybean oil is related to the price, up to 60% lower than canola oil at retail, due both to the still small production volume and the higher incidence of taxes on soybean oil. canola.

Cultivation expansion potential 

Canola production in the world is concentrated in countries in the European Union, Canada and China. “The world has limitations on the use of areas in agriculture. Problems such as salinization, infertile and dry soils make it impossible to even increase crop productivity. On the contrary, Brazil is the only country in the world that has land, machines and other means that allow it to expand canola production by many millions of hectares just by using the areas that produce soybeans and corn in the summer in the colder season. A fantastic opportunity for growth, without cutting down a tree or destroying a hectare of pasture”, explains Embrapa Trigo researcher Gilberto Omar Tomm.

In the study carried out by Embrapa, an area of ​​204 million hectares was estimated suitable for grain production in Central Brazil, including canola cultivation. “In Central Brazil, canola can interrupt the disease cycle in crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans and beans. In other words, technically we have already shown the potential, all it takes is the organization of the production chain to establish market flows”, assesses Tomm.

An experiment conducted with canola in the state of Paraná, under off-season cultivation, resulted in a higher volume of oil per hectare than soybeans. System that can be expanded to Central Brazil, helping to control diseases and invaders as an alternative to the sanitary void of some crops.

“The global consumption of vegetable oils is growing by 5 million tons per year, a gigantic market that Brazil can participate in”, concludes Emilio Figer, from Celena Alimentos.

perspectives

The president of the Brazilian Association of Canola Producers, Vantuir Scarantti, evaluates the crop scenario for canola this year as positive: “our expectation is that sowing, which begins on April 11, will ensure the maintenance of the area of ​​recent years, with possible growth compared to 2018”, he assesses, highlighting that the producer is motivated, especially with prices, since the price of canola is equivalent to soybeans. In recent years, the canola area has remained at around 40 thousand hectares, with cultivation concentrated in RS and PR.

Agenda 

On March 28th, the 1st Canola Technical Seminar will take place, in Giruá, RS. With the theme “Creating new agricultural frontiers”, the event is aimed at training professionals who provide assistance to canola producers. Information by phone 55-3361-1281 and email falecom@abrascanola.com.br.