Competitiveness of Brazilian beef exports: an analysis of comparative advantages

Abstract:

Agribusiness has become a strategic domain for Brazil, and meat trade is one of the most relevant for the presented scenario. Notably in the beef sector, Brazil has been recognized as a strong and competitive player. Reflecting a structured development process responsible for increasing productivity and product quality, the country has been following the signalling of a growing market increasing its competitiveness and international influence. Knowing the importance of beef production and marketing for the Brazilian economy, this work evaluated the competitiveness of exports of this commodity in reference to the main exporting countries at the world and regional level, using for this the normalized revealed comparative advantage index (NRCA). The results indicate that, between 1998 and 2017, Brazil's comparative advantage increased significantly, making it one of the strongest international competitors. The application of the NRCA satisfactorily presented the development of the international scenario of competitiveness in this market, revealing the rising and falling dynamics of the main exporting countries. However, the index did not allow us to understand exactly the specific determinants of competitive performance, which is a limitation of this method application.

Keywords:
bovine beef; competitiveness; international trade; normalized revealed comparative advantage