RECENT PANORAMA OF SUGARCANE IN BRAZIL: ASPECTS OF SPATIAL CONVERGENCE IN PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

Introduced in the sixteenth century through the northeastern Brazilian region, the sugarcane crop was and remains important for national economic growth, raising different regions over time as the Midwest in the decade of 2000. Important as a food source (sugar), sugarcane also exerts great influence in the fuel market, through its by-product ethanol. Thus, this study aims to analyze the spatial distribution of sugarcane in Brazil, through the spatial convergence of land productivity of this crop in the micro-regional level, between the years 1980 and 2010. Results show the existence of spatial β convergence for the proposed period. With velocities and convergence rates considered moderate, it is expected to reduce the regional disparity in sugarcane planting in the long term.