Peach chain articulates new markets

The proposal, supported by the secretary, seeks to include preserves in purchases from public institutions, such as schools, daycare centers, hospitals and the army and, thus, increase the flow of production. 

At the meeting, the secretary signaled immediate internal coordination in the department in order to stimulate institutional purchases with an emphasis on public food acquisition and place the products on the Ministry's “Purchases from Family Farming” portal. “We are studying the possibility of purchasing the flow of stored product so that we can prepare calmly for the next harvest,” he stated.

The agenda, articulated by Embrapa, also addressed the direct acquisition of the product, purchases based on public policies – such as the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) and the National School Meal Program (PNAE) –, and access to financial resources at interest rates reduced by producers. Also, the possibility of entering the São Paulo institutional market was discussed.

For the president of the Union of Sweets and Food Preserves Industries of Pelotas (Sindocopel), Paulo Crochemore, the meeting was important for the region because it will ease the market, guaranteeing the purchase of 100% of the next harvest – starting in just over one month – by industries. “In recent days, it is one of the best news that we will bring to our sector”, he celebrated.

For the general head of Embrapa Clima Temperado, Clenio Pillon, the initiative demonstrates the sector's capacity for institutional articulation, the importance of access to public policies that strengthen and boost family agricultural production in the southern region of the state, and the sensitivity of the secretary to the demands and perception of the quality of peach production, whose technologies are based on knowledge produced by public research. “It is an excellent quality product, which has multiple uses, not just as a dessert. In schools, it is possible to make high-quality juice from preserves,” he added.

Representatives of the South Zone Beekeepers and Fruit Growers Cooperative (Cafsul) and the Pelotas Region Peach Producers Association (APPRP) also participated in the meeting.