Economic Feasibility of Canola Production in the Region of Campos Gerais, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the economic feasibility of canola production ( Brassica napus var oleifera ) for the region Campos Gerais - PR. We interviewed eight producers, and used information from four of them for economic analysis of agricultural crops in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The variables analyzed were: grain production cost, economical analysis (hurdle rate, net present value, internal rate of return, payback, lucratively index, profitability index and sensitivity analysis) and vegetable oil production costs. We compared the performance of canola, wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) — as the main crop in the autumn/winter — and soybean ( Glycine max ) — by liquidity in the world mar ket. It was concluded that although the economic analysis indicates superior results of canola production compared to the wheat crop and vegetable oil production is more attractive financially than soybean, but the culture of canola is still insignificant in the region of Campos Gerais (PR). The producers interviewed pointed to limit the expansion of culture financing the limited farming, production technology in consolidation, the need for machine adjustments and canola be host of the white mold disease ( Sclerotinia sclerotiorun ).