In early September, orange trees bloomed in some orchards in São Paulo State (SP). These flowers will become the fruits from the 2022/23 season. Cepea collaborators reported higher blooming in irrigated orchards, majorly in northern and northwestern SP.

However, citrus farmers have been concerned about the effects of the weather on flower settlement. In dryland orchards, which count exclusively on rainfall for moisture, precipitation has been insufficient to trigger blooming.

According to Somar Meteorologia (weather forecast agency), rainfall was low in the major citrus-producing regions in SP in the first half of September. Thus, while it does not rain significantly, farmers are investing in plant nutrition in order to help on fruit set.

During fruit set (after blooming), temperatures and soil and air moisture deeply influence production. However, in the last years, high temperatures and rainfall below the average were common, limiting the output, largely in non-irrigated orchards.

Climatempo (weather forecast agency) forecasts rains for the second fortnight of September, and rainfall is expected to be within the average in the month in most citrus-producing regions in Brazil, except in southern SP. On the other hand, according to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), there is a 70 % chance that La Niña phenomena may return to Brazil until the end of 2021.

In Brazil, La Niña increases rainfall in the northeastern region and delays precipitation in the south. In southeastern BR, the scenario becomes similar to that in the southern area of the country, which concerns agents, in light of the current drought. For citrus farming, this delay may cause more damages to the 2022/23 harvest, since the coming months are critical for the development of trees, when higher moisture is needed.

BRAZILIAN MARKET IN SEPTEMBER – The demand for oranges increased in the in natura market in the first fortnight of September, favored by high temperatures and the payment of workers’ wages early in the month. As regards supply, the hot and dry weather in SP continued to limit the availability of high-quality fruits in the market (most of them are wilted and small-sized). In this scenario, prices increased.

The Russian sector of commercial orchards currently yields fresh fruit of the food embargo: the producers strive to build up harvests and gain the market share previously occupied by imports. A strong driver to this trend is government support for starting orchards. Specifically, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture has boosted subsidisation fivefold in 2015 – 2016. As reported by Alexander Tkachev, Russian Minister of Agriculture, a total of 72k ha will be established before 2020. 2017 registered 3.3bn RUB of subsidies for orchard start and aftercare with 15.2k ha of orchards laid.

An increase in fruit and berry yields and acceleration of the entire industry’s growth is fostered by introducing innovative solutions, attracting investment, building rootstock nurseries, and developing state-of the-art machinery. All these factors can be enabled only through the combined efforts of all industry stakeholders, who will be brought together at the industry meeting place “Orchards of Russia”.

The Forum and exhibition “Orchards of Russia 2018” (5 – 6 June 2018, Moscow) is a thought-provoking international platform tailored for unlocking investment in Russian commercial orchard and viticulture industry, discussing industry development strategies, sharing best practices, and placing new win-win contracts.

At present, the forum expects a total of 250 representatives from the entire value chain, including C-suite executives of the industry leaders, such as Belgorod apples, Beliy Sad, Glazunovka Gardens, Mengir, Nash Sad, and Plodovoye, along with policymakers, investors and top engineering companies. In general, the expected attendee line-up is represented by the following categories: 30 % of commercial orchard enterprises, 30 % of farm enterprises, 20 % of Russian and international investors, 15 % of service providing companies, and 3 % of regulators. The positions of delegates include: Governors, Ministers and their deputies (10 %), Presidents and VPs (28 %), CEO and their deputies (30 %), and divisional directors (30 % as well).

The forum will be bringing top players of the sector together to evaluate the financing and investment landscape of the industry, share insights to improving efficiency, reducing costs, product storage and processing, and other critical issues.

Moreover, it will highlight more than 60 investment projects in viticulture and orchard industry with 2019 – 2020 deadlines across Russia: Sad-Gigant Ingushetia, Yuzhnye Zemli, Chernozemye Berries, to name just a few. A special focus will be put on Meetings with Investors for project initiators and investors to discuss cooperation opportunities in a relaxed setting.

Request the event programme: www.gardensforum.ru