Excessive rainfall compromises 80% of the fruit crop in the São Francisco Valley

Excessive rainfall between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 in the São Francisco Valley, one of the main grape and mango producers in Brazil, compromised the harvest in the first half of the year by 80%, with estimated losses of R$ 60 million.

Unparalleled in the last 15 years, crop loss affects around 2,000 fruit growers, most of them small and medium-sized producers, according to the Petrolina Rural Producers Union.

Until the 13th of January, according to union estimates, the losses with the grape already exceeded R$ 33 million with the loss of 20 thousand tons of the fruit. In the mango crop, producers accounted for losses of R$ 27 million, with the loss of 10 thousand tons.

The fruit growing region, located mainly in the cities of Juazeiro (BA) and Petrolina (PE), on the banks of the São Francisco River, has registered prolonged rainfall since November that reached 300 millimeters in a week and 500 millimeters in December.

The data are from rainfall records of members of the Petrolina Rural Producers Union, whose rural properties have private rainfall stations. The average annual rainfall in the region is 400 millimeters.

Excessive rainfall mainly affects grape production because the fruit swells and bursts, according to agronomists working in the region.

In the São Francisco Valley, practically all production is with controlled irrigation, in which the necessary amount of water is given for the vine to develop well and produce quality fruits.

But, with the excess of rains, it is practically impossible to make any control. In addition, the rains favor the appearance of fungal diseases such as mildew, which develops with the humidity of the leaves of the grape plants.

“The quality of the fruit is compromised, even though we manage to do the cultivation and save the plant”, said agronomist Jackson Souza Lopes, who is also a consultant and grape producer. “In times without excessive rainfall, producers manage to have 80% of the fruit in category 1, but with the rains it drops to 50%”, he says.

In mango production, the planted area that remained standing will have a delay in the production window (usually between March and April), which can extend for one or two months (May and June), according to agronomist Eduardo Ferraz, who exports to Europe.

“In some areas where there was greater rainfall, there was a reduction in the floral differentiation of the areas, it was not able to complete flowering and with that it delays the fruit production schedule”, he declared.

According to the Petrolina Rural Producers Union, due to this situation, exports to the United States, which occur mainly in February and March, will have a 50% reduction compared to last year, with a greater impact on shipments of grapes from table, the most affected by excessive rains.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that between February and March 2021, Bahia and Pernambuco sent 3,500 tons of grapes and 24.5 tons of mangoes to the North American country.

Total exports of the same fruit in the first half of last year, still to the United States, totaled 7,100 tons of grapes and 57.6 tons of mangoes.

The São Francisco Valley also exports to Europe, England, Mercosur countries and Canada. In total, in 2021, exports totaled 245,000 tons of mangoes and 75,100 tons of grapes.

“This year there will be a reduction in exports to all countries”, says Jailson Lira, president of the Union of Rural Producers of Petrolina and who is also a producer of table grapes, in an area of ​​about 40 hectares.

“My production last year was 1,200 tons, but, because of this problem with the rains, production will fall by half, which will also have an impact on the reduction of hiring employees to carry out cultural treatments,” he said.

Fruit production in the São Francisco Valley (80% of production is from grapes and mangoes) generates 100,000 direct jobs and generates around US$420 million in domestic and foreign markets (R$2.21 billion), according to the Union of Petrolina’s Rural Producers.

João Gualberto Freitas, president of Valexport, said that the entity that represents fruit exporters in the São Francisco Valley is still evaluating the impacts of rains on fruit exports.

“Overall, for now, we are estimating that there will be a reduction of up to 6% in exports, which occur more strongly in the second half of the year,” he said.