Bananas: Brazil's Special Fruit 2020

In the November issue, the magazine Hortifruti Brasil analyzed the impacts of the pandemic on exports of eight fruits: bananas, lemons and limes, apples, papayas, mangoes, watermelons, melons and grapes - which, together, account for 75% of exports in the 2020 partial (January to September). In the case of bananas, the pandemic limited the volume contracted by importers in Europe this year. Furthermore, the low international price did not compensate for shipments to the continent. However, commercialization with Mercosur was very positive, since countries neighboring Brazil showed increasing consumption. Shipments mainly to Argentina increased, even exceeding shipments to Uruguay (which, in 2019, was the largest buyer of Brazilian fruit). Despite the bad weather that hindered production in Santa Catarina, the main exporter to Mercosur, other states made up for this deficit, such as Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo. The good demand from Mercosur may be related to the adverse ...