Mato Grosso do Sul is becoming a new breadbasket and destination for citrus producers in the country. This market boom is associated with the climate, good production environment and strict legislation, with “zero tolerance” for greening disease, which has been devastating plantations and orchards around the world.
This new scenario also encourages those already in the sector and investing in the State. This is the case of rural producer Ronie Garcia Ferreira, 77 years old, who decided to plant oranges in Dois Irmãos do Buriti since 2012. He says that it was a great decision and that he does not regret entering this area.
“I was born here in this region and have lived on this farm (Pouso Alegre) since the 70s. In the beginning it was just livestock farming and then agriculture, but with incentives from farmers here in the region, I decided to plant oranges. I can say that I am doing very well. Mine (orange) is considered the sweetest in the entire region”, he guarantees.
He has 38 hectares of fruit production, with 10 thousand orange trees planted. Its main buyer is markets in Campo Grande, but it has already sold to Dourados and even São Paulo. “My production here is dry and irrigated, we have up to six people who work permanently, but during the big harvest season we have 60 employees. It’s a sector that employs a lot of people.”
Ronie says that support from the State Government is important to the sector, especially Iagro (State Animal and Plant Health Defense Agency), which is always available to help producers. “Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the best states for planting, it has a climate and all prevention against diseases. There are many people interested in investing in the orange sector, but we have an advantage against the competition, with an adult orchard, five to six years ahead,” she described.
Garcia says that on his farm there are several prevention actions against diseases, such as grenning. “There is control and care, thank God there have never been any cases here, but we are very cautious. We receive periodic visits from Iagro and take all necessary precautions.”
It has three machines to harvest, spray and load the orange. On the farm, the oranges go through the polishing machine before being bagged. “It is shiny and has a great texture. We have a great price today, especially due to the lack of oranges due to illness. It is an expanding sector in the State, but it needs to be dedicated all year round”, he warned.
A giant in the sector, Grupo Cutrale is part of this new moment in MS. They announced the investment of R$500 million in planting 5 thousand hectares of oranges in the State, which will be produced at Fazenda Aracoara, which is located on the banks of the BR-060 highway, on the border between Sidrolândia and Campo Grande.
The company that leads Brazilian orange exports will have its entire area irrigated and will plant around 1.730 million orange trees. The project is expected to reach a radius of 150 km from the property, reaching 30 thousand hectares planted in the future.
All this investment in production would even result in the installation of a future orange juice processing industry in Mato Grosso do Sul. The business group’s operations in the State show the growth and expansion scenario that has a new destination here.
Investments continue in other cities. The Junqueira Rodas Group began the citrus growing project in Paranaíba in April, with the intention of planting on 1,500 hectares. They have already announced that they will produce in Naviraí in the second half of the year, with an additional 2.5 thousand hectares.
For Sarita Junqueira Rodas, CEO of the business group, the State is promising because it offers good phytosanitary conditions. “We are convinced of having these two centers in the State. There are good conditions (phytosanitary) here, still protected from diseases such as greening. I see immense potential here.” Their objective is for production to go to the states of São Paulo and Paraná.
Tags: Orange producers find favorable environment invest Dourados Agora
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