Concentração industrial: o caso da indústria gaúcha de esmagamento de soja nos anos 1990

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to show the possible industrial concentration that occurred due to the restructuring process of soybean agroindustry in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the last decade of the twentieth century. This restructuring, taking the agro-industrial sector as a whole, is characterized by a process of concentration, centralization and denationalization of productive capital. However, the object to be addressed here is the concentration of production (or crushing capacity) of crude oil, soybean meal and soybean, that is, to show that the restructuring in the nineties reflected in a greater concentration in the soybean agribusiness in the Rio Grande do Sul. The focus on this parameter is because, according to neoclassical economic theory, concentration in a given market leads to a greater possibility of a tacit coalition between companies aiming at joint profit maximization, resulting in a situation monopoly, implying a loss of social welfare. However, this work covers a broader time horizon, in our view of the utmost importance in achieving this. We began the analysis from the 60s, where the state of Rio Grande do Sul has about 30 soy processing companies. We went through the 1970s, a period of soy boom in Brazil and the expansion of this agribusiness in several states of the federation, particularly in Rio Grande. Finally, it is up to the last stage of this dissertation the main focus of the work, the 1990s and its restructuring process.