Analysis of the efficiency of soybean export corridors in Brazil and in United States using the Data Envelopment Analysis method (DEA)

• Grant number: 15/14791-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2015
• End date: October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering - Operational Research
• Principal Investigator: Daisy Aparecida do Nascimento Rebelatto
• Grantee: Daisy Aparecida do Nascimento Rebelatto
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Ana Elisa Périco ; Enzo Barberio Mariano ; Flávia de Castro Camioto ; Herick Fernando Moralles ; Isotilia Costa Melo ; Naja Brandão Santana

Abstract

This research project is embedded in the issue of Brazilian logistics infrastructure, more specifically, with regard to the efficient flow of soybean production of the main producing States to the largest export ports, Santos, Paranagua and Rio Grande. The issue of investments in logistics and runoff of agricultural production has been a constant theme in Brazilian economic newspapers. The Logistics Investment Program (LIP) and the statements of the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Levy, on the possibility of up to three models of logistics investments (Public Private Partnership - PPP, the lowest model and the grant recovery model) are examples of the relevance of the proposed topic. As the United States and Brazil are the two largest producers of soybeans, and considering that they have a similar modal distribution with respect to the flow of grain, this study aims to compare about 30 export corridors in both countries. The project will use the Data Envelopment Analysis method (DEA) to compare the effectiveness of corridors among themselves. This methodology is used when the influence of many factors not allow a simplified analysis. The result will not only rank corridors for efficiency, but also show what are the input variables that must be optimized for each unit to be more efficient. With this information, the study will also determine the limit of the optimal configuration of soy flow to the current Brazilian logistics infrastructure and what investments will have the greatest impact on increasing the its efficiency. A synthetic analysis of the economic viability indicators of these investments will be presented at the end of the project.Keywords: Agricultural Commodity, Data Envelopment Analysis, Multimodal routes, Logistics, Efficiency, Infrastructure Investment. (AU)