Inlightof the
declining
consumptionof
traditionalcigarettes,
whatencourages
usfor thefutureis
theperspectivenow
unfoldingwiththe
arrivalofsmokeless
e-cigarettes
BenícioAlbanoWerner,
presidentofAfubra
stakes
T
he new tobacco crop in South Brazil, in the 2016/17 growing season, oc-
cupies 150.2 thousand families and 298.5 thousand hectares, according
to estimates by the Tobacco Growers’ Association of Brazil (Afubra), re-
leased in October 2016. The number of producers soars 4% and the area,
10%, compared to the previous season, influenced by the good average
remuneration and the lower productivity rates registered during this period. There-
fore, the size of the crop could go up by 28% from one year to the next, resulting into
674.1 thousand tons, still smaller than the crop size in recent years.
Brazilianfarmers
againexpandthe
plantedarea
forthe2016/17
growingseason,
encouragedby
thesuccessofthe
previousseason
andexpectingto
increasetheprofit
margins
To reach this amount, Afubra considers the historical productivity average over the past growing seasons, which would configure
a 16.5-percent rise in this component, in light of the smaller than expected crop in the previous season. A more realistic projection is
supposed to be released in January 2017. Up until mid-October 2016 the initial projection was holding true, and weather conditions
continued reasonably favorable, with the exception of some cold night temperatures during the development stage of the plants,
along with heavy rains, which have an impact on the physical result.
In his appraisal, Benício Albano Werner, president of Afubra, maintains that, in spite of the problem of the previous season, pro-
High
Newniche
Regarding the futureof the sector, the leader of the tobacco farmers gives an inklingof
a potential market in the world. While surveys point to falling consumption of tradition-
al cigarettes, what is encouraging is the ever-increasingmarket of smokeless e-cigarettes,
which is believed to soar 50%a year in the EuropeanUnion countries and inNorthAmeri-
ca. Within this context, Werner thinks positively in the e-cigarette alternative that uses to-
bacco,insteadoftheliquidnicotinealternative,intheperspectivethattheformeroptionis
more in linewith thepalateof theconsumers, andwith tobacco farmers’ interests.
ductivity, in general, has soared over the past years thanks to technological improve-
ments, especially as far as soil use and cultural practices go. “There is uninterrupt-
ed work towards quality and productivity improvement, research on seed varieties
is conducted toward this end, and the idea is to evolve even further with the ultimate
aim to reduce the amount of pesticides on tobacco”, he says.
Werner is projecting possible pictures for the newgrowing season, with average produc-
tivity rates of 2,258 kilograms per hectare for the various types. Therefore, if theplantedarea
suffered no changes, an extra 86,855 tons would be produced. However, with the project-
ed area increase, an extra 148,924 tons are likely. For a better balance between offer andde-
mand, hecomments, the initial suggestionof the representativeentities (Afubraand the fed-
erations of the three southern states) was for no changes inplanted area. “Nevertheless, the
averagepricepracticedinthepreviousseasonandthelowerproductivityrateshaveinduced
thefarmerstoexpandtheirfields,intheexpectationforbiggerprofits”,hecomments.
n
Divulgação Sinditabaco
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