Mapa publishes new procedures to expand peanut exports

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) published this Thursday (25/03), in the Official Gazette of the Union, the Normative Instruction No. 126, which regulates the criteria and procedures for the hygienic-sanitary certification of exported peanuts.

The implementation of the new regulation reduces bureaucracy and simplifies the health certification of the exported product for companies with a high level of compliance, above 90%, as well as increasing competitiveness in peanut exports to the European Union (EU).  

For the director of the Department of Inspection of Products of Vegetable Origin, Glauco Bertoldo, the current level of excellence in international peanut trade is due to the commitment and investment made by the exporting industry. “In five years, we went from a scenario of 43 interceptions of irregular product exported to just three in 2020. In the same period, Brazilian exports of the product more than doubled. Now, we will increase the competitiveness of Brazilian products by simplifying certification processes for agents that have a level of compliance above 90% in their production processes”, he highlights.

Mapa's Secretary of Agricultural Defense, José Guilherme Leal, is optimistic about the prospect of access to new markets. “Negotiations on technical criteria are already underway with Georgia, in addition to the search for an agreement with China, which began a year ago,” he says. According to him, the evolution of the official certification system for Brazilian peanuts is progressing in accordance with the guidelines of the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, through risk management, process auditing and consolidation of self-control in agro-industries.

Peanut export 

Since 2015, Mapa has developed an exporter qualification system based on individualized monitoring of produced batches and annual audits at industrial units and peanut storage units willing to invest in laboratories, internal control processes and product processing.

In 2020, 29% of exports of this commodity were destined for European bloc countries. Considering the increase in competitiveness, quality of Brazilian products and demand from the EU, the Ministry's estimate is that exports to this bloc will represent 60% of total exports by 2023. 

“Mapa’s expectation is that, if there is a product supply, Brazilian peanut exports will increase by 50% in the next three years, especially to EU countries, an economic bloc that has the most restrictive health and quality criteria for importing peanuts”, explains Bertoldo.

Currently, the state of São Paulo is responsible for producing 90% of the peanuts exported by the country. 

According to the Federal Superintendent of Agriculture of São Paulo, Andrea Moura, risk management and reducing bureaucracy for the official certification of the commodity will stimulate increased production. “There are still many areas of sugarcane renewal within the state where it is possible to include peanut cultivation in crop rotation. The increase in competitiveness in exports, in addition to stimulating the increase in production of this oilseed, will bring diversification of source of income in large areas and increase the agricultural income of the country and the state”.