A quick review of the production and commercialization of the main vegetables in Brazil and the world from 1970 to 2015

In the biennium 2013-14, the world produced 1,134.27 million tons of vegetables annually. The production of garlic, onion, potato, tomato and watermelon accounted for 66.5% of the total. Brazil, in 2012, considering 40 vegetables, produced around 23 million tons, in 900.0 thousand hectares. Potatoes, tomatoes (table and processing), onions, watermelons, carrots, sweet potatoes, lettuce and cabbage, the main vegetables in Brazil, accounted for 64.0% of the total. This work presents the evolution of production, commercialization, and availability of garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and watermelons in Brazil and in the world. In Brazil, the work focused on two distinct periods: 1970-1990 [when the Support Program for Production and Commercialization of Horticultural Products (PROHORT) was implemented] and 1990-2012 (the globalization period). In 13 years (1977-1990), PROHORT succeeded in inducing the modernization of production of fruits, vegetables, and poultry products, enabling the sector to compete in the world market, especially after 1990, with the market opening and the establishment of MERCOSUR. In the 22-year period from 1990-2012, despite the initial difficulties with the commercial opening and internal economic instabilities, production and availability of garlic, onion, potato, tomato and watermelon continued to evolve in Brazil. The horticultural sector advanced in incorporating technologies and in modernizing, stimulated by the market expansion due to both the population growth (33%) observed in Brazil in this period and real gains in Brazilians' income owed to inflation control. In the world scenario, the work discusses the same aspects for these five vegetables in the period 2001-2013. The analysis of the initial and final triennia of this period showed vegetable production increasing 30.3% in the world and 24.4% in Brazil. In both contexts, gains in yield were the main driver of expansion of production, and yield increase came mainly from the use of improved cultivars, especially hybrids.