Analysis of the Worldwide Concentration of Pellet Imports (2012-2018)

Abstract

Faced with the transition in the global energy structure with the shift in consumption of fossil fuels to renewable and clean sources, there has been an increase in the demand for forest biomass for energy purposes, especially wood pellets, and imports have grown in recent years. Therefore, this study analyzed the world concentration of pellet imports from 2012 to 2018. Data on pellet imports were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the following indicators were used to measure the concentration: Concentration Ratio [CR(k)], Hirschman-Herfindal Index (HHI), Theil Entropy Index (E), Gini Inequality Coefficient (G) and the Hall-Tideman Index (HTI). The results showed a growth of 16.67% p.a. of global pellet imports, from 8.76 million tons (t) in 2012 to 22.15 million tons in 2018. The CR(k) indicated very high concentration for countries and high in the subcontinents. The HHI showed a high concentration for continents and subcontinents and a moderate concentration for countries. Entropy and HTI corroborated the analyzes found in the HHI. The G pointed out strong inequality for all territorial levels and showed trends towards a reduction in inequality as of 2015. The reduction in the concentration in the final years of study is related to the expansion and technological diffusion of energy conversion of the densified biomass, which makes this fuel more affordable.

Análise da concentração mundial das exportações de pellets (2012-2018)

“…Some studies have been published on concentration, including Le and Vo (2020) who analyzed the effect of concentration on performance in Vietnamese commercial banks during the period 2005-2012. The concentration of the forestry market can be found on the international stage: Heimann, Gonçalves, Dresch and Silva (2015) analyzed the concentration of the mouldings market imported by the United States between 2005 and 2009; Noce, Carvalho, Canto, Silva and Mendes (2007), for the international plywood market; Selvatti, Borges, Soares, Souza and Coelho Junior (2018) who evaluated the concentration in the global production of MDF; Coelho Junior, Burgos and Santos Júnior (2018) analyzed world pulp exports and Soares Souza, Santos Júnior, Nunes, Joaquim and Coelho Junior (2021) investigated the concentration of imports in the wood pellet sector on a global scale. At the regional level, several studies stand out for the Brazilian scenario, such as: Santos Júnior, Silva, Simioni, Rotela Junior, Menezes and Coelho Junior (2022) who analyzed the concentration of the Brazilian electricity supply from forest resources; Coelho Junior, Burgos and Santos Júnior (2018) for the concentration of firewood in Paraíba, Brazil, based on the gross production value and Coelho Junior (2016) for the regional concentration of the gross production value of jatropha in Paraná, Brazil.…”