The cities of Zona da Mata are feeling the economic impacts of the heavy rains that have hit the State of Minas Gerais in recent days.
Although the poor condition of the roads has hindered the receipt of inputs and the flow of production from rural properties, which are still facing losses in plantations due to the large volume of water.
As the reduction in supply has already triggered price increases of up to 40% in fruit and vegetables. Another impact of the storms occurred in industry, as among the most affected locations are municipalities that are part of the Ubá furniture hub.
Financial loss
In the retail sector, some have decided to temporarily close their doors for reasons such as lack of demand or flooding. The financial losses in both sectors have not yet been calculated, but the representative entities confirm the seriousness of the situation and are mobilizing to help recover the affected areas.
In the early hours of Wednesday (29), a crater opened at km 21 of the MG-133 highway, between Coronel Pacheco and Tabuleiro, after the asphalt gave way due to the rain.
Accidents
This situation caused a serious accident in which a 37-year-old woman died and six other people were injured. Since then, the stretch has been closed. Therefore, residents of the cities belonging to the microregions of Ubá, Viçosa and Ponte Nova, who need to travel to Juiz de Fora, must follow the MG-353, on the route through Zona da Mata Piraúba, passing through Guarani, Rio Novo and Goianá until Coronel Pacheco, where they return to their normal route.
With no forecast of when the section of the MG-133 will be recovered and with the aggravating factor of other areas also having been hit by the rains, rural properties in Zona da Mata have had their production impacted.
“The rural area of Juiz de Fora is having difficulty transporting products and receiving supplies,” said the president of the Rural Union, Domingos Frederico Netto. According to him, some of the products consumed by the residents of Juiz de Fora come from cities in the region that were hit by the rains.
In the rural area of Guarani, the biggest concern is milk production, estimated at 70 thousand liters per day. The city, a forest area that has declared a state of emergency, had several local roads destroyed by the floods, which has hampered the flow of production.
“We are trying to minimize the impacts by working to clear these roads as quickly as possible, as milk is perishable. Production reaches R$100,000 per day, and this loss is very damaging to our producers,” said Mayor Paulo Neves (PV).
Prices
This month, some products have already seen an increase of up to 40% at the Minas Gerais Supply Center (Ceasa), such as tomatoes. “Some products suffer greatly during the rainy season, such as leafy vegetables and fruit vegetables, such as zucchini, eggplant, cucumber and tomatoes themselves, which are more sensitive to the weather.
This year we are facing an atypical January, with a very large volume of rain”, explained the market information coordinator at Ceasa, Ricardo Fernandes Martins.
He also highlights the impact of the rains on transportation, which is also reflected in increased costs. “The situation is extremely complicated. The poor condition of the roads makes it difficult to harvest and take the products to market. We hope the weather improves so that the situation can be regularized.” According to Ricardo, in addition to tomatoes, prices also rose for chayote (20%), cauliflower (23%) and eggplant (15%).
The price comparison was made between the periods of January 16th to 19th and 23rd to 26th of the same month and refers to the behavior of these foods in the state.
Fruit and vegetable farmers
The effects are already being felt by the residents of Juiz de Fora. Carlyle Francisco Lopes Barros, owner of a fruit and vegetable store in the Municipal Market, routinely buys products at the local Ceasa branch. “Today, to buy something, you have to arrive earlier and pay more,” he says.
“The cities that produce the most goods for Juiz de Fora are Barbacena, Tocantins and Piau. So after the crater (on MG-133), the trucks have to travel many more kilometers, which also influences the price of the product.”
Therefore, the repercussions reach the consumer's pocket. Products such as tomatoes, zucchini, chayote and okra are up to 40% more expensive. “The consumer who used to buy two kilos of tomatoes now buys one”, says Carlyle. “We try to get around the price increase by balancing the prices of other products and negotiating with producers.”