The vice-president of the National Agriculture Society (SNA), Hélio Sirimarco, said that the first major problem faced by agribusiness amid the Coronavirus crisis is in the transport sector, “which is worrying”. According to him, recent decisions announced by governors and mayors to block roads and impede truck traffic have harmed the sector, “especially in relation to fruit and vegetables”.
Sirimarco emphasized that perishable foods, including vegetables, require faster deliveries, and highlighted that the problem of road blockages needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Furthermore, he recalled that the Attorney General's Office filed a request for an injunction with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on March 31, to suspend the determination of roadblocks and the stoppage of transport services.
With this, says Sirimarco, internal supply and consumption should be normalized. However, in relation to fruit exports, for example, he believes that the suspension of international flights is already affecting shipments in the sector.
“To give you an idea, we export a large volume of papaya to Europe, which is a large import market. Due to the suspension of flights in consumer countries, this situation has changed. In January and February, Brazilian papaya exports were at full steam; in March, they began to be impacted and shipments stopped taking place. 90% of papaya exports are carried out by air, due to the fragility of the product”.
The Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) reported that fruit consumption in Brazil fell considerably amid the Covid-19 pandemic. According to researcher Marcela Barbieri, in the first week of social isolation there was a “boom” (upward movement) in sales, but subsequently demand fell sharply.
“Sales are even worse for those rural producers who worked with the institutional market, such as schools,” said Marcela.
Disregarding the issue of transport, Sirimarco states that exports have not changed to date.
“Regarding soybeans, we should break the export record in March. The expectation is quite encouraging. China continues to buy (soybeans), and according to market analysts, the country is increasing stocks to prevent logistics problems in the United States, Brazil and Argentina, which are its main suppliers”.
According to the vice-president of the SNA, it is necessary “to be attentive to the development of this crisis, to see how the epidemic is being controlled and how countries can return to normality”.
“We must also consider the economic impacts that will effectively influence demand. This is a problem that we have to check here in Brazil, because the drop in income will imply a reduction in consumption”, concludes Sirimarco.
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