Analysis of the Performance of Transporting Soybeans from Mato Grosso for Export: A Case Study of the Tapajós-Teles Pires Waterway

Breno Tostes de Gomes Garcia, Diana Mery Messias Lopes, Ilton Curty Leal Junior, José Carlos Cesar Amorim, Marcelino Aurélio Vieira da Silva and Vanessa de Almeida Guimarães
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Breno Tostes de Gomes Garcia: Transportation Engineering Program, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro—UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro 21949-900, Brazil
Diana Mery Messias Lopes: Transportation Engineering Program, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro—UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro 21949-900, Brazil
Ilton Curty Leal Junior: Graduate Program in Administration, Federal Fluminense University, Volta Redonda 27.213-145, RJ, Brazil
José Carlos Cesar Amorim: Military Institute of Engineering, Rio de Janeiro 22290-270, Brazil
Marcelino Aurélio Vieira da Silva: Transportation Engineering Program, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro—UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro 21949-900, Brazil
Vanessa de Almeida Guimarães: Celso Suckow da Fonseca Federal Center for Technological Education, CEFET, Angra dos Reis 23.953-030, RJ, Brazil

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-26

Abstract: The inefficiency of Brazil’s logistics system to handle the outflow of farm products impairs the sector’s performance. From the economic perspective, the high freight rates put the country’s agricultural sector at a competitive disadvantage in the global market. Besides this, the reliance on highway transport causes problems of an environmental (high CO 2 emissions) and social nature (large occurrence of accidents). As an alternative to this dependence, Brazil has an extensive network of actually and potentially navigable rivers that could serve as a key element to improve the performance of the agricultural sector. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the possible influence of the Tapajós-Teles Pires Waterway on the sustainable performance of 19 Brazilian soybean export routes, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Of these, only three would use the Tapajós-Teles Pires Waterway, which is not yet in operation. The origins of the routes are four soybean-producing centers located in Mato Grosso, the Brazilian state that produces the most soybeans, destined for 12 seaports. The inputs considered are Accident Cost and CO2 Emissions, while the output is Cargo Carried per US$. For this, we use the DEA-VRS (Variable Return Scale) input-oriented model. The results obtained from the DEA model revealed satisfactory performance of the routes using the Tapajós-Teles Pires Waterway from three of the four production centers. In Campo Novo do Parecis, some 16% (471 km) of the route is composed of highways and the rest of the waterway (84%, 1576 km). In Sorriso, only 3% (85 km) of the route consists of highways, while waterway transport is responsible for 97% (2388 km), and in Querência, 24.55% of the route to the Port of Barcarena consists of highways. The use of these routes and the combination of the two transport modes presented the best efficiency indexes, making development of the waterway a key element to improve the outflow of soybeans for export. The results of this study may help Brazilian authorities to define public policies and apply resources to improve the deficiencies of the transportation system, which can lead to a better balance of the Brazilian transportation matrix.

Keywords: sustainable performance analysis; carbon emission; logistics; transport costs; supply chain and fuel consumption; data envelopment analysis (DEA) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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