O custo de capital enquanto fator de competitividade do sector do olival em Portugal

Abstract

The proposed dissertation tries to understand how the cost of capital influences Portuguese agriculture, specifically the olive sector and its direct impact on foreign investment and competitiveness. In the decade of the 90's, Portuguese agriculture was intensive. Foreigners saw a high potential for olive oil production unexploited in a country where the soil and climate conditions were good, there was a large amount of water available and land value was low. This was how the first foreign investments began. In this essay, the methodology applied is qualitative, through interviews covering several players in focus in this study, since producers, investors, consultants and the banking system, resulting in an analysis that covers the different perspectives in a transversal way, more complete and rich. The conclusion drawn was that, in Portugal, bank financing, as well as the whole process associated with the government itself, is extremely complex. The main reasons for this complexity are related, mainly, to:- Bureaucratic concerns and length of processes;- High demand for covenants;- Higher interest rate risk due to variable rates. The competitiveness in Portugal is increasing, being one of the most developed countries in terms of state-of-the-art technology in the sector. Despite the evolution of the sector, an improvement in terms of associativism and cooperation is necessary. Portuguese olive oil must be valued, not allowing it to be sold as a commodity in which producers have no bargaining power.

Date of Award	10 May 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ricardo Reis (Supervisor)