Citrus growers seek alternatives to industry
O Estado de S. Paulo
Instead of discussing the costs and prices of the carton of orange with the juice industry, growers begin thinking about alternatives of sale that allow to increase the consumption of fruit without it being conditioned only to the sale of the crop to the large Orange crushers. The theme was discussed by the growers last week, during the Forum for the Defense of Citrus Culture, held on Friday at the College of Agronomical Sciences of the Unesp (São Paulo State University), in Botucatu (SP). The Brazilian Association of growers had (Associtrus) and the Brazilian Agriculture and Cattle Raising Confederation (CNA) took part in the meeting. "Today the producer has no bargaining power with the industry, because there is practically no other alternative for the sale of the crop", says the agricultural technician responsible for the preparation of the cost worksheets of the Associtrus, Márcio Borella.
According to him, if each farmer intended 20% of the production to other markets, such as fruit in kind, would decrease the offer of orange to the industry, allowing the high price of juice in the external market and, consequently, better remuneration for producers internally. "And that is not a problem of the industry. That is our problem. See the case of the coffee: for years we were the largest producers, with low domestic consumption though. But that is changing thanks to the efforts of the coffee sector. Perhaps that is the exit for the citrus culture, since, in the case of orange juice, the consumption in the domestic market is static".
A study addressing precisely the issue (the consumption of fruit by the Brazilians) will be disclosed later this month by the CNA, said the Coordinator of Economic Affairs, Renato Conchon. "It will meet the demands of several chains of the fruit culture and it should work to guide possible actions to stimulate the consumption of orange and other fruits", says Conchon. One of such actions, pointed those attending the event, will be the creation of a bill of law to include fruit juice, orange among them, in the school lunch. According to Conchon, the bill is being structured the Parliamentary Front of the Fruit Culture and it should be presented later this month.
A law of the same kind has even been approved in the State of São Paulo, but it ended up being vetoed by the then State Governor, Mário Covas, says the President of the Associtrus, Flávio Viegas. "We even tried to resume to the issue years later, but we had no success". He attributes the prior failures to the fact the bills included only orange juice. "First because the farmers of other types of fruit might feel excluded and second because, involving other chains, the weight of the political articulation is greater", he says.
To the President of the Rural Union of Bebedouro (SP), José Oswaldo Junqueira Franco, the intention is good and it can help improve the income of the producer, but he emphasizes it is needed a paradigm and planning change, because today the producer is used to deliver the crop at once, which is more comfortable. "Besides, in view of the size of the internal market it is necessary to think in the steadiness of supply as well", he alerts.