Excessive rain in RS rots grains, delays planting and almost triples the price of tomatoes

In Santa Maria, in the Central Region of the state, beds that should be full of vegetables ready for harvest are accumulating losses. The Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company (Emater) points out that, in this region alone, damage reaches 40% for producers.

On the property of rural producer Milton Cauzzo, water took over the corridors between the crops. The 15,000 lettuce plants that resisted the excess humidity began to show spots. Part of the pepper and eggplant plantation did not sprout.

"We are already starting to have an impact on some other crops. The people who plant watermelons themselves were unable to have a satisfactory planting in the month of September, losing areas with excess rainfall. Diseases in crops such as strawberries, even in a protected system, in greenhouses, the humidity itself brings about the appearance of these other issues in the crops as well. So the chance of us having a reduction in supply is quite strong", said Brondani.

"These are products that come with a much lower quality than what we were used to working with. We come with the product from various parts of the country, I would say that. We have watermelons that come from Goiás, we have products like tomatoes that are coming from São Paulo, but we know that São Paulo has the same problem as Rio Grande do Sul, with rain. We have cabbage that also comes from outside Rio Grande do Sul", he detailed.

Data from the Supply Centers of Rio Grande do Sul (Ceasa) show an increase in the prices of the main horticultural products. Long-life tomatoes had one of the biggest variations, going from R$4 to R$11.50 per kilo, an increase of 187.5%. The transfer of costs weighs on the household budget.