Fresh peanut exports grow 38% in 2020

From January to December 2020, the fresh peanut sector showed a positive result in its trade balance. Data from ComexStat, organized by ABICAB, show a surplus result of US$314,4 million. The value represents a growth of 38% compared to 2019 (US$227,7). In total, 259 thousand tons of fresh peanuts were exported, an increase of 31% compared to the previous year.

According to the vice-president of ABICAB, Renato Fechino, these results show that the international market's confidence in the Brazilian product, which has always stood out for its quality, grew even in a period of crisis. "During this atypical year, the coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on all sectors, but even so, the peanut sector managed to increase exports," he says.

In the case of the processed peanut market, 5 thousand tons were exported, corresponding to a value of US$9,8 million, which represents a decrease of 12% compared to 2019.

In total, in 2020, Brazil exported fresh and processed peanuts to more than 79 countries. It is worth mentioning that in 2019, Brazil ended the year as the 14th largest producer of fresh peanuts in the world according to the USDA and has been increasing its production capacity year by year.

"This positive result until December last year is in line with what the sector expected after the end of the 2019/2020 harvest. Furthermore, there was an increase in the total planted area compared to the previous harvest, exceeding 200 thousand hectares." , highlights Fechino. The data are from the Agronomic Institute (IAC), of the government of the State of São Paulo. The increase in planted area ensured that growing demand in the country and in its main markets abroad was met.