Etanol na Paraíba: aumento das exportações e aspectos ambientais da produção

Abstract

The experience with the ethanol cane in Brazil dates from the 1920 s. Due to the abundance of natural resources, low-waged manual labor and high productivity levels in the last decades, the country has presented production advantages and surpluses for export. However, the exports are obstructed by trade barriers and allegations of environmental damage caused by the production. Data of IBGE (2008) reveal a growth of almost 30% in the average revenue of the sugarcane farming in the last 10 years in the State of Paraíba. Moreover, in comparison with other states in the Brazilian North-East region, Paraíba was the third largest ethanol exporter in that period. Deserves attention the contribution of the product to the State's exports in the period 2000-2007: exception made for 2006, ethanol was among the four best exported products. Through the estimation of the partial equilibrium model developed by Laird and Yeats (1986), this study intended to estimate the probable effects on the Brazilian ethanol exports, especially for the case of the State of Paraíba, of a supposed elimination of barriers by the North American and European markets. The results indicated a potential increase of Brazil and, specifically, the State of Paraíba ethanol exports to the USA and EU, thus showing the negative economic impact of trade barriers. As characteristic of sustainable production, this study showed that the Brazilian and the State of Paraíba ethanol industry have been extending the techniques for the re-use of production waste as substitute of agriculture chemical products and for electric power generation. .