It is raining, and it is raining hard. In Holambra, we have had 365 mm in the past two weeks, which is more than usually falls in three months, and the rain and gloomy weather are slowing growth. It is the dry season now, and the sun should be shining. At the moment, it is Valentine’s Week because we celebrate ‘Lovers’ Day’ on 12 June.
The rain is causing major problems in the region. Growers in the production areas Atibaia and Ibiuna are complaining about failures of both Internet and power. Wholesalers are complaining about poor sales at town markets and garden centres.
Road carriers are being cautious and are selling less because some of their customers are slow to pay or are not paying at all. Brazil is in the middle of a major crisis anyway, which is why they are purchasing very carefully and avoiding taking any risks.
This year, Lovers’ Day falls on a Sunday. Hopefully, sales will go well; customers expect the supermarkets and pet shops, in particular, to benefit. In general, Sunday is not the best day for such a special day.
In the course of the past week, I visited two cooperatives in the State of Paraná, in the South of Brazil, together with Kees Schoenmaker: the cooperatives Castrolanda and Frísia in Carambei. The area has a substantial industry in both agriculture and cattle breeding.
The cooperatives trade in products such as soy, corn, wheat, beans, milk, animal feeds, pigs, and potatoes. These are traded to customers as commodities or are processed for industry giants such as Nestlé, or turned into an end product for the consumer.
Because the members have strong Dutch roots, the Dutch origin is visible in the marketing strategy, and you are sure to find a windmill on the packaging. Just as in Holambra, villages like Castrolanda and Carambei often have a windmill, as well as various homes and farms in the Dutch style. Carambei even has a historic park that bears a strong resemblance to the open-air museum in Arnhem.
We were warmly welcomed and taken around all sections of the cooperative and had some interesting conversations that offered an insight into their success. There are three cooperatives with Dutch roots in the area, and they work closely together. The cooperatives invest jointly in factories, sales, and distribution centres; they collaborate closely on research and development, and they even carry collective brands.
These cooperatives have not been affected by the crisis and show an annual growth rate of 15%, which is a quadrupling of the turnover in 10 years. A great deal of money has been invested, and many innovations take place. Agriculture really is Brazil’s motor.
André van Kruijssen,
Director Veiling Holambra
