Cheap imports squeeze Brazil’s garlic industry

Faced with competition from lower-priced imports, Brazilian garlic growers are reducing planting and seeking government action to curb shipments from China and Argentina. Farmers plan to cut planted area by 21% this year, to about 11,000 hectares, as imported garlic from both countries continues to enter Brazil at prices below domestic production costs, according to the National Garlic Producers Association (Anapa).

This week, Anapa will ask the executive board of Brazil’s foreign trade chamber to revoke a price undertaking currently in effect for garlic exported by four major Chinese suppliers. Under the arrangement, Shandong Trans-High Imp & Exp Co., Jining Foreign Trading Co., Jining Freen Agri-Produces Co., and Shandong Goodfarmer International Trading Co. are subject to a minimum export price of $15.80 per 10-kilogram box. Other Chinese exporters face an anti-dumping duty of $7.80 per box.

“Our production cost is about $25 per box. This price undertaking has discouraged planting in Brazil,” said Rafael Corsino, president of Anapa. The association wants the arrangement abolished and the anti-dumping surcharge applied to all Chinese garlic imports. Later this month, Anapa also plans to seek anti-dumping measures against Argentine garlic. “Argentina exports garlic below its production cost. Production costs there are around $18 per box, yet garlic has been entering Brazil at $12.50,” Corsino said. According to the association, Argentina has allegedly undervalued garlic exports to Brazil for the past six years.

Brazil consumes roughly 320,000 tonnes of garlic annually but produces only about 170,000 tonnes, according to Anapa. Most domestic production is concentrated in the states of Minas Gerais, Goiás, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina. Until last year, about 60% of imported garlic came from Argentina and 36% from China.

The chart below shows the trend in monthly garlic import volumes recorded at Brazilian ports, according to Datamar’s container throughput data:

Garlic Imports | Jan 2023 – Apr | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Data from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services show that garlic imports fell 5.4% in the January-April period compared with the same period of 2025, totaling 62,400 tonnes.

In value terms, imports declined 15.9% to US$77 million, equivalent to an average price of US$12.34 per box. The composition of imports, however, shifted significantly.

Argentina accounted for 92.7% of imported volume during the first four months of the year, while China supplied just 5.6%. Chinese garlic imports plunged 82.3% to 19,900 tonnes, while imports from Argentina rose 26.7% to 45,700 tonnes.

“The increase in imports resulted in losses of R$5.50 per kilogram sold. Anti-dumping measures are urgently needed,” said Franchielli Motter, president of the Garlic Producers Association of Rio Grande do Sul.

She said growers in the state are expected to reduce planted area from 850 hectares to 750 hectares next year. “I planted 16 hectares last year and will plant only 12 this year,” she said.

Growers in southern Brazil harvest garlic planted in June and July toward the end of the year. That crop is marketed during the first half of the following year and competes directly with Argentine garlic. Farmers in southeastern and central-western Brazil supply the market during the second half of the year, competing primarily with Chinese imports.

Jaime Menegon, a garlic farmer in São Marcos, Rio Grande do Sul, planted 14 hectares in 2025 but plans to reduce that to just four hectares this year. “I lost R$5 per kilogram. I’ve seen several crises, but never one like this,” he said. Menegon plans to concentrate production on his own land and return leased acreage.

Excess imported supply also forced Everson Tagliari, a grower in Curitibanos, Santa Catarina, to sell his last crop at a loss. “It costs between R$120,000 and R$130,000 to produce one hectare of garlic. We generated only R$80,000 in revenue per hectare,” he said.

Tagliari plans to reduce the planted area from 10 hectares to 4 hectares and convert the remaining land to pasture for livestock farmers. The Garlic Producers Association of Santa Catarina expects statewide acreage to fall from 850 hectares in 2025 to 700 hectares this year. “Anti-dumping duties on Argentine garlic are vital for us. It is also important to eliminate the price undertaking on Chinese garlic. There is excess product on the market. The situation is alarming for growers,” Tagliari said.

José Barreto, chief executive of Akio Produtos Alimentícios, one of São Paulo’s largest distributors of purple garlic, said the same situation is unfolding in the major garlic-producing region of São Gotardo, Minas Gerais. “Planted area has been reduced because costs are very high and competition is unfair,” he said.

Akio sells garlic paste, fried garlic, and garlic-based seasonings to retailers. In 2025, the company processed 1,300 tonnes of peeled garlic and sold 100 tonnes of fresh garlic. This year, it expects to maintain overall sales volumes while increasing the share of higher-value-added products. In March, the company launched a powdered purple garlic product made from domestically grown garlic.

Source: Valor International

Sharing is caring!