Fewer
vineyards
,
more fruit
The overall balance of the year in the vitiviniculture
sector indicates a 0.67-percent drop inplanted area in 2017,
butwith a record productionof 1.68million tons of grapes
The area devoted to vineyards in Brazil
in 2017 amounted to 78.028 hectares, down
0.67% from the previous year. The produc-
ing regions are concentrated in South Brazil,
which represents 73.95% of the total in the
Country, especially in Rio Grande do Sul, a
state that is home to 62.58% of the national
vineyards. In the southernmost state, the re-
duction in the planted area reached 2.43%
compared to 2016. In Santa Catarina and
Paraná, it was 2.55% and 7.33%, respective-
ly. In São Paulo, relevant producer of table
grapes, theplantedareadecreasedby6.4%.
Researcher Loiva Maria Ribeiro de Mello,
fromEmbrapaGrapeandWine, inBentoGon-
çalves (RS), explains that in Vale do São Fran-
cisco, in the portion located in the state of Ba-
hiatherewasadropinplantedareaof11.51%,
whilst in Pernambuco the area devoted to
vineyards soared 26.75%. “In the State of Es-
pírito Santo, winegrowing is now occupying
new areas, including areas with tropical cli-
mate, under the supervision of researchers
from the Federal University of Espírito Santo”,
Sílvio Ávila
82
