Abrafrutas, the new association of Brazilian fruit producers and exporters, aims to double the country’s fruit exports in the next five years. Luiz Roberto Barcelos, director of Agricola Famosa and president of the new association, urged growers to become more export oriented rather than relying simply on the booming domestic market to sell their fruit.
Speaking to Freshplaza.com, he warned producers not to become complacent but to look to develop new marketing channels. “The local market has been very good during the last five years,” he said. “Brazilians are getting better salaries and they’re eating more fruit, but we don't’ know how the financial situation will be in the future, so we must have the export market as well.”
Abrafrutas was established to raise the standard of Brazilian fruit exports with the aim of consolidating its position in existing markets and open up new markets such as Asia and North America. The association has 31 members who between them account for approximately 80 per cent of Brazilian exports.
Brazil is the third largest fruit producer in the world behind China and India, but typically exports only a small proportion of its output. Figures from the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Brazilian fruit institute Ibraf show that shipments for 2013 totalled 711,800 tonnes, with an equivalent value of US$657.5m, representing a slight increase on the previous year.
Barcelos said one of the key ways Abrafrutas hoped to boost exports was to educate growers to farm in a more socially and environmentally responsible way, as this would help raise the quality bar and ensure that Brazilian fruit was up to the standards required by the international markets.
