Brazil: Santa Catarina harvest of pitaya is 75% higher than 2021

Santa Catarina ends the pitaya harvest with an estimated volume of more than 1,750 tons sold, representing a growth of around 75% compared to the 2020/2021 harvest and an economic movement of about 7 million in the state. The production survey was carried out by Epagri and the cooperatives Cooperja, from Jacinto Machado, and Coopervalesul, from Turvo. More than 90% of the fruit was produced in the South of Santa Catarina. According to agronomist Ricardo Martins, rural extension worker at Epagri in Maracajá, a large part of the increase in production is due to the transformation of young orchards into adults and not to the increase in the planted area. He informs that the main destination of the fruit in the domestic market was mainly the South and Southeast regions of Brazil. “A small part of the state's production was also exported to Canada”, he says. Preliminary estimates made point to a production area of around 236 hectares, with around 275 families involved. “Since 2021, a ...