PERFORMANCE OF THE MAIN BRAZILIAN FRUIT EXPORT STATES IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE: IS THE NORTHEAST REGION EFFICIENT?

Abstract

In the Northeast Brazil, investment in infrastructure and irrigation turned its climate conditions into advantages in the cultivation of fruit, potentiating its production and export. In this context, the objective is to verify if the Northeastern states are efficient in fruit export. Thus, Vollrath’s Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCAV) and Relative Position (RP) indicators were used; and by adjusting the linear trend of the time series of these indices for the years from 1997 to 2020, it was built the competitive matrix of the Brazilian fruit export, with a focus on the Northeastern states. In addition to these, the following states were also considered: Acre, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The results showed that of the 19 states considered in this study, seven states of the Northeast (Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe), plus the states of Acre and Amazonas, have Vollrath’s Revealed Comparative Advantage. With respect to the Relative Position Index (RPI), one may observe that 12 states are net exporters of fruit (which include all Northeastern states, except Alagoas).