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Piracicaba, 2nd – Brazil's trade balance of fresh apples, which has been negative since the beginning of year – an unusual occurrence, as it’s typically positive during the harvest months – has reached record levels. According to Comex Stat data, the deficit reached US$ 127.10 million (FOB) between January and July, the highest for the period since the beginning of the time series, in 1997.
This is primarily due to, while the revenue acquired from exports was only US$ 9.20 million in the partial year (a 69% drop), the expenditure on imports was US$ 136.30 million (an increase of 103%). Hortifrúti/Cepea collaborators attribute this result mainly to failure of Brazilian harvest, caused by intense rain in spring 2023 and summer 2023/24, which affected the yield, the caliber and the post-harvest quality. The increased supply of smaller apples resulted in greater demand for medium-large apples from abroad, while also complicating the ability to ship exports to other countries.
Source: hfbrasil.org.br
