Commercial Mission to Expand Shipment of Melon from RN to China

 

Commercial Mission to Expand Shipment of Melon from RN to China

A little over a year after sending the first tons of melon to China, a trade mission by producers from Potiguares to the Asian country will seek to expand exports. The meeting will take place in March of next year and was defined between representatives of Sebrae in Rio Grande do Norte, the State Government and the Executive Committee for Fruit Growing (COEX) at the Chinese Consulate, during the Fruit Growing Forum, one of the Expofruit events, at Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (Ufersa), which closed this Friday (26) in Mossoró.

In a virtual participation in the lecture “Commercial Strategies for Fruit Growing”, the Consul General of China, Yan Yuqing, highlighted the quality of Potiguar melon and highlighted the importance of bilateral trade cooperation. Chinese commercial attache Shao Weitong also participated in the panel.

“The delicious melons produced in Mossoró successfully entered the Chinese market, which allowed the Chinese to enjoy the Brazilian sweetness. Brazil has superior natural conditions for a large production, many varieties and high quality of fruit, making it the third largest fruit producer in the world. As the fruit market with the greatest potential, China has a growing demand for high quality fruits and vegetables from abroad. Therefore, it is extremely complementary to the cooperation between China and Brazil in the area of ​​fruit trade”, emphasized Yuqing.

The trade mission that will travel to China will promote a rapprochement, at the negotiating table, between melon producers from Rio Grande do Norte and large Chinese buyers of the fruit, with the aim of expanding operations in the Chinese market, which consumes around 17 million of tons of fruit per year. Two years after the opening of the Asian market to Brazilian fruit, only samples were sent to test the logistics and acceptance of the product.

“We managed to achieve, after ten years of struggle, what seemed to be the most difficult, which was the opening of the Chinese market to Potiguar melon. Now, we need to look for alternatives to conquer the Chinese market. The mission will be decisive in this regard, as it will put, face to face, those who produce and those who buy, in a win-win relationship”, assesses the Technical director of Sebrae-RN, João Hélio Cavalcanti Júnior.

The secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of RN, Guilherme Saldanha, creator of the trade mission, recalled the aptitude of producers to supply the Chinese market and listed factors that will make the difference for a greater reach of Potiguar melon.

“Potiguar producers have a high production capacity, capable of supplying the Chinese market, because they produce in the off-season period in China, and have a differentiated product, with high quality and a high phytosanitary concept. This will make all the difference when negotiating with Chinese buyers”, he points out.

NECK

For the producer and representative of the Brazilian Association of Fruit and Derivatives Producers (Abrafrutas), Luiz Roberto Barcelos, the capacity to supply the Asian country is indisputable. According to Barcelos, the quantity sent to China could be equivalent to the 800 containers exported to Europe weekly. For this, however, what is pointed out as the main obstacle in the process needs to be remedied: logistics.

“I received the news today that there is no logistics from here to there. The fruit had to go to Santos and from there to China. And the arrival forecast went from 50 to 60 days. If there were a ship leaving from here directly to China, in around 28 days we would be arriving there. Once this problem is resolved, we can move on to having a business relationship with someone in China that allows us to send an entire ship of fruit. This is a great challenge”, he points out.

To get an idea of ​​the logistical difficulty involved in sending melons to China, containers sent to Europe take, on average, ten days to reach their destination. “Our biggest challenge is to make possible direct sea routes between RN and China, so that the trip can be made in approximately 30 days. This will be decisive for them to be able to buy increasingly larger volumes”, observes Guilherme Saldanha.

Also participating in the discussions were the president of Coex, Fábio Queiroga and the superintendent of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in RN, Roberto Papa. The Fruit Culture Forum was part of the scientific program of the 24th edition of the International Irrigated Tropical Fruit Culture Fair (Expofruit), held by Sebrae-RN, Coex and Ufersa, this week, in Mossoró.

Rio Grande do Norte is the biggest producer of melon in the country, with an average of 200 thousand tons per year, which corresponds to about 60% of the national production. In 2019, Brazil exported more than 251 thousand tons of melon to several countries. The expectation, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Mapa), is that this number will double if it conquers at least 1% of the Chinese market. The harvest in Brazil coincides with the off-season in China. Rio Grande do Norte is the main exporter.

Source: Portal Tropical, Abrafrutas.