Mercosur-EU agreement begins to show effects in Brazil’s Northeast

The newly signed agreement between Mercosur and the European Union has already begun to produce concrete effects for Brazil’s Northeast economy, especially for fruit exports from the São Francisco Valley.

The first practical consequence announced involves one of the world’s largest irrigated fruit-growing hubs, located between Petrolina and Juazeiro.

During an official agenda, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Recife Mayor João Campos announced that fruit produced in the region will now enter the European market at zero tariff, a measure seen as strategic to increasing the Northeast’s competitiveness in international trade.

In practice, products such as mangoes, grapes, melons and other fresh fruit from the semi-arid Northeast will reach European countries at lower prices and under more competitive conditions.

Northeast could gain billions from exports

The São Francisco Valley is already one of Brazil’s largest fruit-exporting regions. The area accounts for a large share of the country’s mango exports, seedless grape shipments and irrigated production geared toward foreign markets.

With tariffs removed for these products entering Europe, producers and exporters expect immediate sales growth, new international contracts, expanded production and job creation in the interior of the Northeast.

The impact could be even greater because Europe is one of the main buyers of higher value-added Brazilian fruit.

Petrolina and Juazeiro become strategic to foreign trade

Behind the scenes in agribusiness, the agreement is being viewed as a particular win for the Northeast. While other Brazilian regions concentrate soybean, corn and animal protein production, the semi-arid Northeast has consolidated itself in recent decades as a powerhouse in export-oriented irrigated agriculture.

The combination of a warm climate, year-round production, irrigation from the São Francisco River and agricultural technology has turned the sertão into an international reference.

Today, fruit grown in the valley already supplies European supermarkets, Middle Eastern markets and international food chains.

Port of Suape and airports could see increased activity

The agreement could also accelerate logistics investments in the Northeast. With exports expected to grow, infrastructure such as the Port of Suape, cargo airports, distribution centers and refrigerated terminals is likely to become even more important.

Much of the fruit exported from the valley needs to reach foreign markets quickly, especially fresh products with high commercial value.

During the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, the Port of Fortaleza in Ceará ranked as the leading Brazilian gateway for fruit shipments bound for the European Union. The following breakdown highlights other top-performing ports in this category, according to data compiled by Datamar:

Top Fruit Exporting Ports to the EU | Q1 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

What changes under the Mercosur-EU agreement?

The trade agreement is considered one of the largest ever signed by Brazil and creates a free trade area involving about 700 million consumers.

The trend is for several Brazilian products to benefit from gradual tariff reductions or tariff elimination when entering the European market.

For fruit from the Northeast, the effects are appearing more quickly because the sector already had a strong export structure in place and ready to expand shipments immediately.

Semi-arid region gains international prominence

The symbolism of the announcement is also notable. For decades, Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast was associated with drought and economic hardship. Now, the scenario is changing, with the sertão emerging as one of the Brazilian regions best prepared to export premium food products to the European market.

As a result, the Mercosur-EU agreement could further accelerate the economic transformation of the interior of the Northeast.

Source: NE9

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