"There were losses in all fruits during the truckers' strike, but the most affected ones were bananas and papayas. In the case of bananas, the production in the north of Santa Catarina was at its peak harvest time, which is why they were severely affected by the strike. As for watermelon, grapes, mango, papaya, melon, and orange, some producers left the fruits in the fields because of the strike. Fortunately, the milder weather conditions helped a little, as it allowed the fruit to ripen a little more slowly," said João Paulo Deleo and Leticia Julião, researchers at Hortifruti / CEPEA, in an interview with HF Brazil.
Leticia Julião said that storage had also played an important role in the entire crisis caused by the strike. "For example, cold storage facilities in the San Francisco Valley were full of melons, grapes, and mangoes, as producers attempted to commercialize the fruit little by little so that prices wouldn't fall too much in the domestic market. Apples are an exception, because the harvest was in its final phase and almost all the fruit was in the chambers. There were some local sales of grapes, melons and papayas. In addition, some producers donated fruit. Fuit exports were totally paralyzed because the truckers' strike closed all Brazilian ports in the last week of May."
João Paulo Deleo said there was a sharp increase in the wholesale prices of vegetables during the strike. "There was a supply deficit in the wholesale market that caused high prices. There was merchandise available, but it couldn't be taken to the markets. Some products were more affected than others in terms of supply and prices, especially potatoes, carrots, and onions. The supply of potatoes and onions was low before the strike and even lower when it was declared. There was hardly any commercialization of carrots. During the strike, consumers could find some volumes of tomatoes and lettuce in large distribution and wholesale markets."