Garlic harvest surpassed 16 thousand tons in Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina's garlic crop is in the commercialization phase and a challenge for producers is the price, which is at levels below the estimated production cost for the State. According to data from the Safras Project, from the Center for Socioeconomics and Agricultural Planning (Epagri/Cepa), the area planted with garlic in the 2022/23 harvest was 1.490 hectares, with production of approximately 16,2 thousand tons.   

Productivity was around 10,9 thousand kilos per hectare. According to data available on the Observatório Agro Catarinense website, this productivity is higher than that recorded in the last eight harvests. 

In relation to the price paid to the producer, there was a reduction in February, compared to January. Class 2 and 3 garlic went from R$4,68/kg to R$3,90/kg, a reduction of 16,66%. Classes 4 and 5 had average prices paid to producers of R$6,94/kg, a reduction of 17,57%. Classes 6 and 7 were sold at R$9,00/kg, a reduction of 15,73%. These are the lowest prices paid to producers since Epagri/Cepa has been monitoring the market, which began in December 2019. The numbers, month by month, are published in the Observatory.

Market

Despite  the  increase  in  productivity compared to recent harvests, the reduction in the  planted area impacted the state's participation in national production. In recent years, the area went from 2.406 hectares in the 2018/19 harvest to 1.490 hectares in the 2022/23 harvest, a reduction of 38,07%. According to the socioeconomic and rural development analyst at Epagri/Cepa, Jurandi Gugel, the reduction in planted area is due to the low economic return that the crop has achieved in recent years. 

He also explains that officially registered imports do not appear to have caused the price drop. This is because, in February 2023, 13,09 thousand tons of garlic were imported, a reduction of 12,2% compared to January. Compared to the month of February 2022, the reduction was 5,75%. “As can be seen, the year 2022 was the year with the lowest imports in recent years, driven by the increase in domestic production, the favorable exchange rate, the high cost of international freight and better acceptance of national garlic by the Brazilian consumer”, he states. Jurandi.

Perspective

However, if imports were not the main reason for the low prices paid to producers, the international situation does not point to a significant recovery in the coming months. According to the analyst, Spain, an important exporter of the product, has slow sales and higher stocks than last year due to stagnant demand in Europe. In China, there is a significant amount of refrigerated garlic from the last harvest, a situation that has affected the price of the product and could worsen with the new Chinese harvest that begins in June. In the United States there is a surplus supply of garlic offered, especially by Argentina and Peru.