Rain causes vegetable prices to rise in January, says Conab

The rains of the beginning of the year raised the prices of vegetables in the main in the country's Supply Centers (Ceasas) in January, according to a survey released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday (18). The Prohort Bulletin, which is made monthly by the National Supply Company (Conab), shows, for example, that tomatoes rose 95% in Vitória (ES) and 87.39% in Recife (PE). See the price and variation of the main vegetables across the country: Lettuce: from R$ 1.63 (ES) to R$ 5.20 (CE) per kilo. Variation between 26% (MG) to -36.5% (ES); Tomato: from R$ 1.65 (CE) to R$ 3.29 (GO) per kilo. Variation between 95% (ES) and 1.2% (DF); Potatoes: from R$ 1.45 (MG) to R$ 2.58 (PE) per kilo. Variation between 37.9% (PE) and 4% (RJ); Onion: from R$ 1.13 (PE) to R$ 2.06 (GO) per kilo. Variation between 12% (EC) and -7.7% (RJ); Carrot: from R$ 1.12 (MG) to R$ 2.27 (PE) the kilo. Variation between 45% (SP) and 3.27% (RJ). "Product supply declined sharply in markets in the first month of the year, which influenced rising prices," Conab said in a statement. The analysis was carried out, according to the government, for vegetables with greater representativeness in the commercialization carried out in the plants and recorded greater emphasis in calculating the official inflation index, the IPCA, such as lettuce, potatoes, onions, carrots and tomatoes. Conab's database considered the largest and most accessible in the country receives information from 117 varieties of fruits and 123 different vegetables from all different regions of Brazil. Other highs In January, the behavior was bullish in the prices of potatoes, carrots and tomatoes, as already shown. This movement took place in all the markets analyzed, according to Conab. Potatoes even cost R$ 2.58 the wholesale kilo in the capital of Pernambuco, an increase of about 38%. Supply is also reduced, as rains increase the incidence of diseases, decrease the harvest rate and still impair the flow of production. With this, the trend for the month of February is that the values remain at high levels. In the first half of this month alone, Ceasa de Fortaleza records prices 30% higher. Behavior followed in Brasilia, with a rise of 27%, and in Belo Horizonte, with a 15% increase. Lower prices Lettuce and onion swelled prices, with the exception of few markets, where increases were recorded. With an atypical behavior for the period, the onion was marketed with stable values, or even cheaper in some wholesale. One of the reasons for the drop in values is good production recorded in Pernambuco, which contributed to a 30% increase in supply in the market. Cheaper fruits To relieve your pocket, watermelon has become cheaper in most wholesale markets analyzed by Conab. Low demand for the product due to the warm and rainy weather and the lower quality of the fruit favored the drop in prices. Papaya exhibited similar behavior. The reduction in the values marketed is, the government says, a reflection of weaker demand and poor weather conditions in both cultivation and fruit harvesting. See the price and variation of the main vegetables across the country: Banana: from R$ 0.97 (PE) to R$ 3.95 (GO) per kilo. Variation between 19.7% (PE) and -9.5% (SP); Orange: from R$ 1.38 (DF) to R$ 1.89 (CE) per kilo. Variation between 12.7% (SP) and -14.8% (EC); Apple: from R$ 3.64 (MG) to R$ 5.37 (CE) per kilo. Variation between 8.9% (GO) and -8.2% (RJ); Papaya: from R$ 0.97 (CE) to R$ 1.88 (SP) a kilo. Range between 5.30% (PE) and -28.1% (EC); Watermelon: from R$ 0.74 (PE) to R$ 1.75 (RJ) the kilo. Variation between -1.7% (EC) and -30.3% (SP). For February, prices should remain stable, since supply is adjusted, even with the record of a slight heated demand.