Value of São Paulos rural production grows 18%
Valor Econômico 11/17/2008
The gross production value of agriculture and cattle raising (GPV) of São Paulo, measured "from the gate inside", should amount to R$ 37.7 billion (US$ 17.1 billion in 2008, according to preliminary estimates of the Institute of Agricultural Economy (IEA), linked to the Secretariat of Agriculture of the State. If the expected result is confirmed, the increase compared to 2007 (R$ 31.9 billion/US$ 14.5 billion) will be 18.4%. Although many products are contributing to the projected increase, the main boost will come from the sugarcane, the cornerstone of the state's countryside. IEA foresees that the São Paulo sugarcane production's gross value should reach R$ 12.8 billion (US$ 5.8 billion) this year, 14.3% over 2007‘s amount. As the sugarcane prices have remained relatively stable this far compared to the last year, the advance of the physical production supports the value growth, leveraged by new sugar and alcohol plants that, in spite of the much less favorable setting, recently started operating. IEA's preliminary projections indicate that sugarcane will represent 34% of the state GVP in 2008. In 2006, the "gold year" of the culture, the share was 44.9%. The value remained at R$ 14.816 billion (US$ 6.7 billion), supported by volume and prices, since the global wave around bio fuels was gaining strength. With this, the total gross value of the state production reached the record of R$ 33.007 billion (US$ 15 billion), which will be surpassed. With the recovery of sugarcane in 2008, the four principal products of São Paulo's countryside - the others being bovine meat, orange for juice industries, and poultry meat - trend to keep a joint share of 60.2% in the consolidated GPV. IEA's preliminary survey shows that, from the 50 researched products, 13 should end the year with fall in average prices compared to 2007. Sugarcane should remain stable, and 36 products tend to show growth. In this group, the relevance is the expected growths of wheat (174.8%), bean (110.6%) and sorghum (97.6%).