The corn and wheat crops performed well this year, allowing for a 3.2% increase in the rate of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for agriculture in the third quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year. Livestock also helped in this elevation.
Despite this recovery, the GDP of agriculture and livestock still maintains an accumulated drop of 1.5% in the year and 1.3% in the last four quarters. It should close the period in decline.
With regard to 2021, the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) revised the sector’s rate and, according to the new calculations, agriculture grew by 0.3%. Previous data indicated a drop of 0.2%.
The GDP of agriculture will not maintain the space it registered in the last two years in the Brazilian economy. The soybean harvest, the main item of Brazilian production, had a sharp reduction, caused by drought.
In 2019, the participation of agriculture in the GDP was 4.9%, a percentage that rose to 6.6% in 2020 and to 8.8% in 2021, according to the IBGE.
Looking at the third quarter of this year, the evolution occurs, in relation to the same period of last year, due to a recovery of the corn harvest. This year, producers harvested 85 million tons of cereal, 37% more than in 2021.
Last year, due to severe weather effects, the second corn crop in the country was only 62 million tons.
The reduction in supply in 2021 encouraged producers, who sowed an area 12% larger in the second harvest of 2022.
More favorable weather conditions allowed for a 23% increase in productivity, which raised total corn production, adding the summer crop and the second crop, to a record 110 million tons.
The better GDP performance in this third quarter, compared to the same period in 2021, is also due to wheat. The country has never produced as much wheat as this year. There are 9.6 million tons of cereal, 23% more than in 2021.
Increases of 11%, both in area and productivity, raised the country’s production to that record. Even so, Brazil remains dependent on imports.
Coffee didn’t do much. A positive influence of the biennial was expected, which did not occur this year, due to severe weather problems in 2021. Drought and frost affected crops, inhibiting this year’s yield.
Production alternates with a good result in one year and a decline in the next. This was to be a period of harvest greater than that obtained.
Production had an evolution of only 3.7% in the Arabica coffee harvest, the main one in the country. The total harvest, including conilon, should reach 50.4 million bags, 5.6% more than in 2021, according to Conab (National Supply Company).
Cotton, another product with a harvest in the second half, had a 15% increase in production this year, compared to the previous year. Productivity, however, fell by 2%, according to the IBGE.
Orange production also helped GDP growth. The harvest should reach 16.7 million tons, 4.4% higher than the previous one.
Sugarcane and cassava, however, two important products for the country’s agricultural sector, recorded lower production this year, weighing negatively on GDP growth.
The sugarcane production area fell 3%, and production fell 1%, to 603 million tons, points out the IBGE.
Cassava production, which has been losing area to soy and corn, drops to 18.3 million tons, with a reduction of 1.3% compared to last year. Productivity, affected by drought, was also lower, with a decrease of 1%.
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