Off-season helps cushion war’s impact on fruit exports

At least for now, Brazil’s fruit off-season has helped limit the immediate impact of the war in the Middle East on the country’s fruit exports. The conflict has pushed oil prices higher, increasing transport costs in international trade. Even so, because Brazilian fruit shipments are concentrated in the second half of the year, most exporters have so far avoided the freight surge.

“For most fruit exporters, the war has not really hit home,” said Guilherme Coelho, president of Abrafrutas, the Brazilian Association of Fruit Producers, Exporters and Derivatives. He spoke to Valor during the Fruit Attraction trade fair in Sao Paulo, which ended on Thursday (March 26). On Monday (March 30), Coelho will leave the post and businessman Waldyr Promicia will take over as president.

About 60% of Brazil’s fruit exports take place in the second half of the year, especially between September and December, according to Abrafrutas. Most shipments of mangoes and melons, the two most important fruits in the segment’s export basket, occur during that period.

See the chart below for export fruit throughput trends over the past three years:

Fruit Exports | Jan. 2023 – Jan. 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Shipments from the new crop usually begin in late July, said Leandro Perna, Maersk’s logistics manager for reefer cargo. But volumes only begin to gain momentum from “week 34.” According to him, many market participants view that period, in mid-August, as a barometer for exports. “If things go well in that week, the tendency is for results to remain positive through the end of the season.”

Perna estimates that after the start of the war in the Middle East, ocean freight costs rose by between $300 and $600 per container, or about 10%, depending on the cargo and destination.

The increase is expected to be even sharper in air transport. During a panel at Fruit Attraction, Patricia Bello, chief executive of GolLog, said the price of aviation fuel in Brazil is expected to rise 54% in April. GolLog does not operate in the international fruit transport market.

Gold Fruit, based in Petrolina in Pernambuco state, which produces mangoes, grapes and melons in the Sao Francisco Valley, has not yet started shipments of two of the three mango varieties it exports. The exception is the Palmer variety, which is exported year-round.

Mario Otsuka, chief executive of Gold Fruit, said the company negotiates freight in advance for both the first and second halves of the year. “People are already starting to complain,” he said, referring to logistics operators’ attempts to bring forward rate increases. Europe is the company’s main export destination.

Sebastiao da Manga, also based in Petrolina, works in fruit exports and imports across different transport modes. In road transport, the cost of a truck rose from 28,000 reais to 32,000 reais after the war began, said Chief Executive Robson Araujo. “If the war drags on for too long, it will become very complicated for the sector,” he said.

Source: Globo Rural

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