Toward Better Logistics of Soybean Export Business in Paraguay

• Main Authors: Rodney Javier Dávalos Benitez, 洛迪尼
• Other Authors: Hen-yi Jen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/vg64vh

碩士 === 元智大學 === 工業工程與管理學系 === 105 === Paraguay, a landlocked country with an economy strongly dependent on the agricultural sector, in particular the soybean business; is experiencing a downside risk of international commodity price. As the fourth major exporter of soybean worldwide (after Brazil, USA and Argentina), Paraguay needs to stay competitive by improving its oilseed exportation network, particularly to lower expensive inland freight transportation costs. Two of its neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, have already made plans to overcome similar difficulties: the former is on the way of being more connected (which some delay after Petrobras -the biggest public company and principal source of income of the country- corruption turmoil) to Paraguay with its railway system. The latter, with which Paraguay has historical disagreements and diplomatic and political confrontations, is a necessary path, using the Paraguay River (with whom it shares certain stretch), to reach a seaport for international trade. Paraguay also established a Master Plan of Transportation to overcome its infrastructural deficiencies, using its own financial resources but also helped by a multilateral bank and international agencies; to study, project and develop roads to facilitate producers (e.g. soybean farmers) and processors in reaching international markets and as a way of expanding its logistics capabilities. Considering that there are some seaports (like Paranaguá and São Francisco do Sul) reachable from Paraguayan border with Brazil and since its railway and road infrastructure is improving; a transshipment railway station with a bridge in Pdte. Franco (Paraguay) connecting with Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) will develop a new route for an effective freight transportation. In light of the abovementioned developments, my study uses Benchmarking as a tool to compare these three countries (Brazil, Argentina & USA): what they are doing (best practices and other strategies) to be in the first three places of soybean export ranking; and what Paraguay can do as a way to increase its competitiveness in this market.