Agricultural storage in Brazil: demand, availability and governmental support

Abstract

This study examines the performance of government support for agricultural storage, in relation to the evolution of capacity demand and availability from 2008 to 2018, using a new approach based on official statistics. The State intervention under consideration corresponds to the investment credit provided by various programs under the national system of rural credit (Sistema Nacional de Crédito Rural), a key tool in the Brazilian agricultural policy. We found significant interstate differences in the composition of storage capacity demand and availability (based on products, ownership and activity types, and storage modality), and in the availability/demand ratio and in the relationship between this and credit distribution. Furthermore, we found that State support was insufficient to meet the increasing levels of agricultural production, despite its consistency with the correction/mitigation of distortions – namely, greater absorption of resources by deficient states, improved suitability of facilities for bulk storage, and a relative increase in farm storage capacity. Thus, the availability/demand ratio in the major states served has not improved, or it has even declined.