EN 
PT_BR 
The volume of tomatoes destined for industrial processing in Brazil may have lost approximately 117,000 tons of potential between June and July. In June, the World Processing Tomato Council (WPTC) projected 1.467 million tons for the country. By the end of July, the estimate had already decreased to approximately 1.35 million tons, a reduction of about 81% of the total. On August 14th, the organization reported that there were no changes in the Brazilian scenario.
The cut occurred after weather problems in important producing regions. In early July, the WPTC reported that above-normal rainfall in May and June hit areas of Goiás and São Paulo, causing severe damage in some places, increased disease incidence, and reduced expected productivity. Planting had also faced delays in March due to rainfall.
If the volume of 1.35 million tons is confirmed, Brazilian processing will be approximately 6% below the 1.437 million tons recorded in 2025 and 18% below the 1.65 million tons of 2024.
Early rain is a concern in the final stretch of the harvest season.
The effects of the weather are showing up in the crops. During a visit by Notícias Agrícolas to a tomato processing area in the Itaberaí region of Goiás, producer Fábio Alves pointed to the early arrival of rains as the main challenge in the final stretch of the cycle.
“I believe the main challenge is the weather. This year the rain started earlier, and we already have this concern because, as you can see, the fruit is on the ground, literally on the ground. And rain can make harvesting more difficult. So that's the biggest concern.”
This concern is especially relevant in a crop with highly mechanized harvesting. With the fruit close to the ground, rain makes it difficult for the machines to operate precisely at the time of harvesting.
The 2026 scenario reinforces the supply chain's exposure to climate fluctuations. In its global assessment for June, the WPTC pointed to climate volatility, including droughts, floods, and heat waves, as one of the recurring risks to yield, quality, and planning in the tomato processing supply chain.
Impacts are not uniform across areas.
The reduction in the national outlook, however, does not mean equal performance in all areas. With production focused entirely on the state of Goiás, Kraft Heinz projects harvesting 15% more tomatoes this season than in the previous cycle, maintaining practically the same area of approximately 2,500 hectares. According to the company, all of its tomato production in the country is concentrated in the state and is carried out by partner producers.
According to Lucas Pasqual, Director of Agriculture at Kraft Heinz in Brazil, the progress is mainly linked to efficiency gains.
"Today we plant an average of 2,500 hectares. The volume varies from harvest to harvest, but what we can say is that we are growing this year by 15% compared to the previous harvest, basically maintaining the same number of hectares. So we are growing more in efficiency, mainly, producing more with the same number of hectares."
The company attributes this result to the technological evolution of the operation, the choice of materials, the development of the producer base, and technical support throughout the cycle. The model includes the supply of inputs and the involvement of agricultural engineers from soil preparation to harvest.
The performance projected by the company does not contradict the estimated decline for the country as a whole. The numbers are on different scales: on one hand, WPTC tracks the national volume destined for processing; on the other, Kraft presents the expected result for its own production base.
The contrast perfectly illustrates the heterogeneity of the 2026 harvest. While WPTC has lowered its Brazilian outlook due to climate impacts in important producing regions, Kraft attributes its expectation of expanding its own production without a proportional increase in area to efficiency gains.
