Tons of mangos will rot on their trees, while other fruits, such as grapes, melons, and limes will be discarded altogether. This was the image projected by the Brazilian fruit sector after the notorious tariffs from the American president Donald Trump. Indeed, some crops will be harshly affected by the surcharges, particularly because these products are perishable: if they are not sold on time, they simply rot. However, the USA represents only 7% of Brazilian food exports in total. These tariffs then create a more ambitious reflection: Why is Brazil, the third largest global fruit producer, only the 31st largest exporter?

“We are lacking in new markets and in the qualification of small and medium producers,” says Guilherme Coelho, president of the Brazilian Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters, Abrafrutas.

Over the last years, there have been advancements in the sector, going from a low average to breaking consecutive export records. In 2024, foreign sales reached 1 million tons of fresh and processed fruits, which generated 1.3 billion dollars in profit, coming primarily from Europe. Specifically, over the last 4 years, the annual average growth reached 7%. However, the country still faces challenges that limit its potential.

“To increase our global presence throughout the year, it is essential to cut logistical and production costs, and improve our response to quality demands”, says Margarete Boteon, researcher of citrus fruits in Brazil’s Centre of Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), in the University of São Paulo (USP). Today, big exporters can fulfill protocols, yet smaller producers face adaptation challenges and often prefer the domestic market.

Double-edged sword

Brazilian exports enjoy the off-season of the world’s largest producers, but the strategy is a double-edged sword: While the Brazilian product is sold at higher prices when fruit production is lacking abroad, it has limited space outside these periods.

“Entrepreneurship focused on external markets is necessary, such as what occurs in Chile, Peru, and Mexico”, states Marcos Jank, coordinator of Insper Agro Global, a project that analyses Brazil’s standing in the global agribusiness. Concerning fruit exports, Brazil is behind smaller neighboring countries, such as Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.  With a market of over 200 million people, Brazil exports less than 3% of the over 42 million tons of fruits produced.

Chile is a good example. There, an entrepreneurial model focused on exports has been fostered since the 1930s, based on sophisticated logistics, such as aerial transportation to ship fruits with lower shelf lives. In Brazil, boat transfers, which take over 30 days, are still used instead. In other words, following this example, national fruits could be shipped to Asia by plane, for instance.

Another solution would be to unite small and medium-scale producers in cooperative companies, following in the footsteps of other sectors of the agribusiness, so that they could achieve larger export capacities – a significantly more complex activity than selling in the domestic market. Trump’s tariffs are an invitation for Brazil to seek new solutions and reap better results abroad.

If you have any questions or corrections, please write to rafael.balago (at) exame.com.