The peanut market - Brazil

1.1 Definition and scope of study

Peanuts are leguminous plants that produce fruits that grow underground. Peanuts are not nuts, but are associated with the nuts and dried fruit family because of their similar benefits and energy consumption. Peanuts, which originate in South America, are now grown in various parts of the world, although their cultivation requires demanding climatic conditions and a specific type of soil. Thus, peanut cultivation is not widespread in European countries and they are therefore major importers of peanuts. There are different types of peanuts :

• Runner (dominant type, most used for peanut butter)
• Virginia (represents the majority of roasted peanuts)
• Spanish (generally used for sweets)
• Valencia (very sweet and usually baked)

Brazil is the second largest producer and exporter of peanuts in Latin America. In 2018, more than 466,000 tons of the product were shipped abroad, second only to Argentina, whose annual production was 1 million tons. More than 90% of the national peanut production is concentrated in the state of São Paulo, which also accounts for 97% of the product's exports. The main peanut growing centers of the State of São Paulo are the regions of Alta Mogiana (Ribeirão Preto, Dumont, Jaboticabal and Sertãozinho) and Alta Paulista (Tupã and Marília). Of all the production registered in the country, only 20% is destined for domestic consumption, both by consumers and the candy industries. 80% of the harvest is destined for exports (mostly to European countries).

Even so, Brazilian production has undergone significant transformations in the last 10 years. Once known as an important producer of oil-oriented peanuts, today the focus is on fresh grains. All this is a reflection of the increased investment in the branch and the consequent improvement in the quality of the product (good size, good formation, with well-defined sanitary issues due to residues and agrotoxic). In addition, peanuts have become one of the products with increasing demand, especially by sportsmen, in line with the growing concern with nutrition and physical exercise in recent years. Peanut butter, for example, was one of the infrequent foods on supermarket shelves and is now one of the products in fashion.