For decades, the state of São Paulo has been the largest peanut producer in Brazil, responsible for about 90% of national production and practically 100% of the exported production. The strong union of all players involved in the peanut production chain for human consumption is the main differential for the constant growth in the quantity and quality of Brazilian peanuts.
Thus, Brazil, despite not being in the top 10 largest producers of the product in quantity, is in fifth place as the largest peanuts exporter in the world, due to the quality of the product offered. In less than four years, Brazil has more than doubled the production and export of oilseeds (considering the period of 2014 - 2018).
The recent scenario that producers have faced is an increase in the value of land leasing, which amounts to about 10% of the peanut production cost. This is forcing large exporting companies to seek new strategies. The one that has identified itself as the most promising is that of taking the production to the state of Mato Grosso, neighboring São Paulo, and which has cheaper land prices.
As for quality, Brazil is one of the countries with the lowest rates of contamination by aflatoxin. This allows most of the grains used to be processed for human consumption. The loads with higher contamination rates are directed to the oil and animal feed industry.
The main varieties grown in Brazil are IAC OL3, IAC 503, IAC OL4 and IAC 886 (Runner). The Runner variety is one of the most common, to better adapt to the climatic conditions of the state of São Paulo and was implemented in 2013.
The main destinations for Brazilian peanuts are the European Union, Russia, Algeria, Mexico and South Africa. For reasons of a bad harvest, with high percentages of aflatoxin, the USA has become a potential buyer of Brazilian peanuts, having some shipments contracted recently.
As for the peanut planting and marketing timeline, below:
- Planting period: starts in September, peaks in October, continues in November and ends in the first half of December.
- The harvest starts in February, reaches its peak in March and may extend until May.
- The best season for branches is from October when the next harvest can begin to be negotiated.
Thus, the low season period runs from September to January, with the harvest starting in February and a month later it is available for trading in domestic and foreign markets.
This data was gathered after an interview between Tridge and the Head of Research of the Peanut Chamber from EMBRAPA (The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation that is a public research company linked to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil.) Some technical details were also discussed. Special thanks to Mr. Dartanha Soares for all the inputs and information about the current scenario and cultivar development of peanuts in Brazil.