AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
OF STORAGE IN BRAZIL
Sebastião Nogueira Junior
Alfredo Tsunechiro
INTRODUCTION
With this work, the authors, Sebastião Nogueira Junior and Alfredo Tsunechiro, raise the problem of mismatch between grain production in Brazil, from 1994-2003, from 76 million tons to 123 million tons, with a growth of 62%, while the storage capacity increased only 7.4%, according to data from CONAB. With this, they aim to identify critical regions regarding the availability of space for better adaptation and expansion of storage, especially on rural properties, aiming at provide the producer with conditions to retain his production to take advantage of the best marketing times, also seeking to avoid the congestion of warehouses, silos and ports in periods of harvest.
It is important to note that government research support programs, such as the modernization of the fleet of tractors, harvesters and implements have been contributing to the growth of grain production, raising productivity, not only in the new frontiers of the Northern Region, but also in the traditional areas of the Southeast-South, where activities are replaced, mainly due to the high remuneration achieved by soy in the last years.
In the case of the research, IPEA, through a simulation carried out, shows that EMBRAPA's expenses, here representing the entire contribution national technological, are the main long-term explanatory factor for the growth of agriculture, even ahead of Credit Rural. On the other hand, storage constitutes a focus of concern and inevitable comparisons, hindering the full development of agribusiness. Therefore, if we want to increase grain exports and meet the growing domestic demand, it is necessary to invest not only in production (planting and harvesting machines and technology), but also in the storage of quality. Without this investment, the sector's growth becomes unfeasible.
DEVELOPMENT
The authors, using basic data from CONAB/2004 and extensive bibliography pertinent to the issue addressed, conclude that the storage capacity of Brazil, requires a high amount of infrastructure investment, as it has not kept pace over the years with the growth of crops. Previous studies on the subject indicate that there was never, in fact, much clarity about the priority for the Brazilian storage complex.
In recent years, the explosive growth of soy has placed the country as the world's leading exporter with 37 million tons, ahead of the United States with 34 million tons, with prospects for successive gains in the next crops.
The expressive expansion of grains in recent years, led by soybeans, induced substantial investments to expand the capacity of the storage network, mainly by cooperatives and producers agricultural. Even so, it is known that serious problems of adequacy and location still occur, with detrimental effects on the competitiveness of national agribusiness. Since the 1990s, the government has stopped working in infrastructure areas directly, such as storage. As an example, we can mention the demobilization of CONAB's assets, with the privatization of 38 warehouses.
As for the adequacy of the warehouse network, it is evident from the authors' statements that Brazil urgently needs to create a program similar to the old PRONAZEM. However, as we have seen, there was no harmonious development, especially with regard to the physical functions of agricultural marketing - transport and storage.
The case of transport is very serious in a country with a large territorial extension such as Brazil, where road transport predominates, increasing collection and distribution costs. With regard to storage, the demand is 155.2 million tons, with 44.7 million tons of bagged products that demand conventional warehouses, such as sugar, cotton (seed), peanuts, rice, processed coffee, beans, sunflower and castor bean. As for bulk products, 114.5 million tons, require silos and bulk carriers, such as oats, rye, barley, corn, soybeans, sorghum, domestic and imported wheat.
The states that led the total storage demand in 2003 were the states of Paraná with 20.3% of the Brazilian total, São Paulo with 15.7%, Rio Grande do Sul with 14.8%, Mato Grosso with 12.3%, Goiás with 7.7% and Minas Gerais with 7.2%, making a total of 78%.
In the 2002/2003 harvest, when there was a record in grain production of 123.2 million tons, with an offer of the main agricultural products that can be stored in the natural environment totaled 155.2 million tons.
Considering this figure for the analysis of static storage capacity in Brazil, position of October 2003, which was 90.5 million tons there is a current deficit of 64.7 million tons in total and 32.7 million tons, if only grains are considered.
However, if we are going to use the universal stock rotation pattern (rotate 1.5 times) as an indicator of technical and economic feasibility for implementing a storage unit, the static capacity of 64.7 million tons becomes 135.8 million tons, (dynamic capacity) with a deficit smaller, around 19.4 million tons of agricultural products that can be stored and with a surplus of 13.3 million tons, in the case of grains.
Of these 90, 5 million tons of storage supply in Brazil in 2003, given the static capacity, consisting of 24.2 million tons in conventional warehouses (26.8%) and 66.3 million tons in bulk warehouses and silos (73,2%)
As already mentioned, the dynamic storage capacity in Brazil in the same period (2003), becomes 135.8 million of tons, of which 36.4 million tons refer to conventional warehouses and 99.4 million tons to silos and warehouses bulk carriers. With this dynamic capacity, based on a turnover of 1.5 in a period of one year, a universally used factor, due to the different seasonality of the harvests and the non-coincidence of the storage of goods in the storage units, it appears that there is even a slight slack in the production coverage. However, the authors point out that the quality of the existing units and their suitability (bulk x sack) still leave something to be desired, especially in traditional regions, due to the age of the facilities, given the lower investment of resources in infrastructure, in contrast to those with the recent incorporation of new areas to the production process, where units for storage and bulk.
. The growth of agricultural exploration towards the Center-North region of the country required and continues to require massive investments in the network of storage and transport modes, while the problems of adequacy and location of existing units need to be resolved.
Another important issue is meeting the need for additional infrastructure for growing crops (grain sorghum and triticale), whose products require specific silos (cells), as well as genetically modified grains, whose production also requires its own system of guard. Hence the need for further research for a position on the current situation and prospects for storage in the face of the new geography of Rural Brazil.
CONCLUSION
It is expected that the data obtained with this work by Sebastião Nogueira Junior and Alfredo Tsunechiro, provide elements for decision-making by agents involved in agribusiness, with the indication of needy areas or areas in need of adjustments, so that grain agriculture is explored rationally and remain competitive in the national and international scenario, thus being able to offer low-cost products, guarantee income for farmers and generate foreign exchange For the country.
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/producao-agricola-infraestrutura.htm