Produção e armazenagem no estado do Pará - análise da mesorregião do Baixo Amazonas

Abstract

Brazil is one of the world's leading producers of grains, in this sense, the agribusiness sector has been essential for the growth and development of the country, where considerable and significant increases in grain production are observed every harvest. On the other hand, it is observed deficiencies concerning the storage area for not being able to keep up with the accelerated movement of the field, resulting in losses. One of the Brazilian states that have been gaining space in the soybean production scenario is Pará, especially in the Lower Amazon mesoregion, due to some competitive benefits created with the implementation of a port in the region and the promise of improved infrastructure and logistics for the flow of production. In this sense, the objective of this study was to make a diagnosis of the grain production and post-harvest infrastructure in the state of Pará, with emphasis on the Baixo Amazonas. For this, a survey of official data on grain production and storage capacity was carried out using exploratory research. After collecting data from the National Supply Company (CONAB), State Department of Agricultural and Fishery Development (SEDAP), and Weather Climate, these were compiled into tables and graphs and analyzed descriptively. Through the surveyed data, it was observed a deficit of grain storage capacity in Brazil, being more expressive in the Midwest, North, and Northeast regions, which have areas with agricultural frontier. Specifically, in the state of Pará, the deficit is of static storage capacity, especially in the Lower Amazon-PA where critical situations were observed in the municipality of Santarém, even though it is a port area and where 91% of the storage capacity of the mesoregion is located. In Belterra and Monte Alegre there is low capacity and in Mojuí dos Campos there is no unit installed. These municipalities are important producers of grains in the mesoregion, and because of this, the grains need to be commercialized during the harvest. Even though they have their unit, the producers are not able to store the grains for long periods because the only outflow route used is the two ports of Santarem, which are not exclusive for one type of grain, restricting the outflow in specific seasons. Another worrying factor is the need to reach the cargo volume of the ship to compensate for the sale, not being able to save the grain for a better opportunity. Furthermore, the occurrence of heavy rain at harvest time causes operational and quality losses to the grains. The urgent need for expansion in storage infrastructure stands out since agricultural production has particularities, such as seasonality and dependence on climatic aspects.