Logistics and Agribusiness in Goiás: The Case Soybean Case

Abstract

The agribusiness has made significant contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Goiás, and soybean is one of the main products in the state’s economy. In turn, the logistics related to this product represent one of the biggest obstacles to the development of the sector, and, despite this, there is a lack of studies related to this subject. Accordingly, this study conducted a critical analysis about the reality of soybean logistics in the state of Goiás. Therefore, we carried out case studies in five organizations related to the distribution of this product in the state, namely: Companhia Nacional do Abastecimento (Conab); Federação da Agricultura e Pecuária de Goiás (FAEG); Agência Goiana de Assistência Técnica, Extensão Rural e Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMATER); Secretaria de Estado da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (SEAGRO), and Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA). The results related to the logistical flow of soybean demonstrated the inefficiency in product flow, characterized mainly by losses and increase in logistics costs. Thus, this study, besides presenting the theoretical implications of the topics discussed earlier, also presents management implications that may represent improvements in the sector, in order to increase the logistics efficiency of agribusiness from this product.