The price of French bread and specialty wheat flour in Paraná slightly decreased at the beginning of this year, according to research by the Department of Rural Economics (Deral) of the State Department of Agriculture and Supply.
According to the Agricultural Bulletin, for Dec. 23, 2022, to Jan. 5, 2023, the decrease in product values, both wholesale and retail, was 1%.
For the technicians of the Deral, a possible explanation for this tendency of a slight decrease in prices may be the record in the national production of wheat.
In Brazil’s Paraná state, the harvest period of the wheat crop is practically closed and recorded a trend that went against the national figures.
The estimated production in the state is 3.4 million tons – the volume is 15% lower than projected at the beginning of the harvest.
WHEAT HAD A CUMULATIVE INCREASE IN 2022
In 2022, specialty flours had an increase of 28% in wholesale, reaching R$ 93.61 for a 25-kilo sack.
The percentage increase in French bread was lower but still significant: 15%, making the product sell for R$ 11.46 a kilo.
The readjustment, Deral’s technicians point out, had its main cause in the increase of international prices – driven by the war in Ukraine.
The strong influence of the foreign market on wheat flour prices can be explained: Brazil consumes, according to the National Supply Company (Conab), 12.3 million tons of wheat products every year, but the national production barely reaches 9.5 million tons.
To close this gap, the product must be imported.
MILK AND DERIVATIVES ALSO REGISTERED PRICE DROPS
Another product that has been registering price drops is milk. According to the bulletin of the Deral, it has already been five months of decline, with the price of the liter captured in November and paid in December reaching R$ 2.59.
In retail, the milk derivatives also register successive falls, points out the department.
CHICKEN MEAT EXPORTS GREW IN PARANÁ AND BRAZIL
There was an increase in chicken meat exports, said the Deral. The national figures show that there was an increase of 5.2% in the total volume traded with the foreign market – 4.2 million tons in 2022 against 4 million tons in 2021.
The total value of deals closed had a more expressive increase of almost 30%, jumping from US$6.7 billion in 2021 to US$8.8 billion in 2022.
In Paraná, the sector’s growth rates were similar to the national ones. The increase in export volume was 7.1%, with 1.6 million tons traded in 2021 and 1.8 million tons in 2022.
The growth in the value of the deals closed by exporters was 36%, going from US$ 2.6 billion in 2021 to US$ 3.5 billion in 2022.