Onion/Cepea: Rains boost prices in the South of Brazil

This week (December 9-13), rains made harvesting difficult in Ituporanga (SC), São José do Norte (RS), Irati and Guarapuava (PR). Harvests in these southern regions, which began a few weeks ago, were gaining pace until last week, when rainfall resulted in a slowdown in the pace of harvesting in the fields. In the Guarapuava region, for example, rainfall reached 169 mm in the last 7 days, according to data from The Weather Channel. In Ituporanga, 59 mm fell in the same period. According to collaborators from Hortifrúti/Cepea, the quality of the bulbs is still good, but if the rainfall continues, it should decline. With the Cristalina (GO) harvest practically finished, onions from the South are being more in demand and better transported to the Southeast. Thus, demand combined with the slowdown in the harvest pace favored an increase in prices this week. Thus, the early hybrid closed at R$27.43 (+16.3%) and R$28.50/20 kg bag (+32.6%) in Guarapuava and Irati (PR), respectively. In ...