Friday August 16th, 2024

In August 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the opening of exports of Brazilian avocados to Costa Rica. The Brazilian fruit sector celebrates that the opening of this market with Costa Rica will contribute positively to the performance of Brazilian fruit exports, potentially generating more jobs and income for the avocado segment. It is worth remembering that avocado exports include tropical varieties and avocado, a relatively new product in Brazil, but very popular worldwide.

There is also great expectation among avocado producers regarding avocado exports to India, a recently opened market, which will contribute significantly to the start of operations with Asia, a market with very high potential, starting with the next harvest, between December 2024 and the end of the first half of 2025.

According to Jorge de Souza, technical and project manager at Abrafrutas, some technical and bureaucratic procedures are involved in the process of opening new markets. Among these processes, the most important are the possibility of negotiating trade compensation between countries and the technical process of pest risk analysis, which is always present due to its phytosanitary implications. Buying countries are very careful and discerning in the import process to ensure that pathogenic microorganisms and insects associated with the fruits will not enter their territory. Therefore, during the analysis, there is a risk study and the adoption of control and mitigation measures.

Currently, the main buyers of Brazilian avocados are Argentina and Uruguay in South America, as well as Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in Europe. In Asia, India is expected to become the largest importer. Jorge de Souza points out that exporting to the Asian continent is still a challenge due to the maritime logistics process. According to the expert, air exports make logistics a competitive factor due to the higher cost, but it is the technically viable short-term alternative. In this sense, competing producing countries closer to Asia, such as South Africa and Australia, tend to offer more competitive commercial conditions: “You have to be efficient in production to compensate for the additional logistics cost”, highlights Jorge de Souza. 

 

Brazilian avocado in focus

Brazil’s prominence as a fruit producer is nothing new. According to data from Abrafrutas, the country is ranked third in the world, behind only China and India. However, there are still great opportunities to increase the country’s share of the international market. For importing countries, the quality of Brazilian fruits stands out, as well as their diversity, textures, flavors and forms of consumption. In 2023, exports totaled more than US$ 1.35 billion, the highest mark in the sector’s historical series.

In the export ranking, Brazil is in 24th place, selling only 2.5% of its production to the foreign market. Jorge de Souza emphasizes that the more markets open their doors to Brazilian fruit, the faster Brazil will consolidate itself among the 10 largest fruit exporters in the world: “We at Abrafrutas see Brazil’s potential as an exporter as ‘half full’, not ‘half empty’. The problem is not demand. There is a lot of demand for our fruit. The big challenge is to develop an export culture among our producers. Given a very strong domestic market, not all producers are interested in exporting, as they believe the challenge is greater than it really is”, he concludes.

 

About Frutas do Brasil

Abrafrutas (Brazilian Association of Fruit and Derivatives Producers and Exporters), in partnership with ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), is committed to promoting the growth of Brazilian exporters. This project aims to expand its business, open new markets, highlight Brazilian fruits’ qualities and encourage the consumption of high-quality and tasty fruits.

About Abrafrutas

The Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruit and Derivatives (Abrafrutas) is a non-profit association whose purpose is to represent and promote Brazilian fruit growing in the international market. Created in 2014, Abrafrutas has approximately 70 associated fruit exporters and holds approximately 85% of the total volume of fresh fruit exported by Brazil.