“The trade fair is very important to Brazil because we're bringing people from abroad to give us their vision of the future,” said one of the forum organizers, Andrés da Silva. While each speaker may add their own take on where the industry is going, da Silva noted that most visions include much potential in the Brazilian market. While most of the country's greenhouses are still dedicated to cut flowers, a growing portion of greenhouse growers are producing vegetables. Production for flowers is concentrated in the Sao Paolo area, but the country's burgeoning vegetable production has been more spread out, though demands from supermarkets for bigger, more uniform shipments has put pressure on growers to consolidate their operations.
For now, da Silva described Brazilian greenhouses as medium-tech, with a good portion of them having wooden structures, polyethylene panels and insect-proof ventilation, but with no heating systems. Part of the reason for the conference, however, is to address the specific Brazilian situation, like the scarcity of high-tech greenhouses, and provide guidance for where the industry should go.
“We'll have Alejandro Dumovic come from Chile to speak about how to get good yields,” noted da Silva. “Chile has huge production, and they get good yields with relatively little technology, so his talk will be interesting for us.” On the roster of speakers is also Felix Tarrats from Ceickor to provide a Mexican perspective, and there will also be Gustavo Yentzen from Chile's Produce Marketing Association. The consulter Gilles Turcotte, from Agrisys, will explain to us how to get good yields and quality in an Organic Production, as Brazilian Government gives lot of importance to this sector. Da Silva hopes the conference will offer different perspectives and guidance for Brazil's booming greenhouse sector.
“There were no grape tomatoes ten years ago, and now prices for them are up to $15 per pound. That's the case for cucumbers and bell peppers, so everybody is making a lot of money,” said da Silva, explaining the big opportunities available in Brazil. “So for people who have the financing and a vision, they can grow very fast because of all the opportunities.”
Partners of the forum are:
Click here to see the program (PDF)
For more information:
http://plasticultura.org.br
Andrés da Silva
EACEA LTDA
55 12 9613 2171
www.eacea.com.br