International trade indicators and their effects on soybean exports from Matopiba

Abstract

In view of the importance of soybean agribusiness for the Brazilian economy and the region of Matopiba – acronym for the names of the states Maranhão (MA), Tocantins (TO), Piauí (PI), and Bahia (BA) –, this study sought to measure the effects of the Vollrath’s revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and the contribution-to-the-trade-balance (CTB) indexes on the soybean exports of the Matopiba region, in the period from 2016 to 2021, with quarterly data. The RCA and CTB indexes were determined as independent variables, whereas the soybean exports were considered as dependent variables of the econometric model of panel data, by the Driscoll and Kraay’s fixed-effects method with standard error correction approach. The data on export and import values of soybean grain from each Matopiba state were extracted from the website of the Brazilian foreign trade (Comex Stat) of the Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior (MDIC). The results showed that the soybean exports are positive functions of their Vollrath’s revealed comparative advantages and of the contribution-to-the-trade-balance. It is concluded that the comparative advantages derived from this region’s specialization in the production and export of soybean provide important effects on the international trade of this commodity.