Exports of organic products from Brazil are forecast to increase on the back of the US$250m-worth of sales in 2010, according to estimates from the Organics Brasil Project, coordinated by IPD/Apex-Brasil – the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.
Shipments have been growing around 20 per cent annually over the last five years, providing a boost for the industry and helping to consolidate its position in the country’s agriculture industry, according to a press release from Apex-Brasil.
As a result, expansion of the industry has been developing at flat-out pace in Brazil, the agency said, allowing the nation’s organics sector to stake a claim on the internal and external markets.
With the fourth-largest production area for organic products in the world (1.8m hectares), Brazil is in line with the global trend for organic agriculture.
Furthermore, the recent decision by the Brazilian government to host a sustainable World Cup in 2014 –by linking the image of the home of football with concern for the environment – has created an excellent outlook for growth among the country’s organic producers.
Today, organic agriculture is produced in each of Brazil’s states, in the north-eastern, south-eastern and south regions, but mainly in Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Ceará, Paraná, Piauí and São Paulo.
Family-based farming accounts for the most of the production chain, accounting for approximately 84 per cent of the 5m properties.
Small producers are also set to benefit from the Brazilian government’s decision to stimulate organic farming across the country.
To further that growth, Brazilian organic companies will be present on a 1,400m2 pavilion at the Anuga trade show in Cologne, Germany, on 8-12 October.
Companies such as Atlantica Foods will be offering organic açai, guaraná and orange juice, while CE Strauss plans to present its line of ethically-certified (Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and organic) fruit juices.
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