Segurança no abastecimento de cereais em Portugal

: estudo exploratório

Abstract

The main goal of this report was to accomplish an analytic study about the supply of cereals in the Portuguese market. To this end, we analyzed the dependence of Portugal against the exterior, using the trade balance. It was also analyzed the degree of provisioning- the percentage of consumption provided by the domestic production. We concluded that Portugal is heavily dependent on imports and not self-sufficient in this category of goods as essential for the day-to-day of the Portuguese population as cereals. Then we conducted a case study relating to port strikes of 2012, since this shock represented the most outstanding shortage of supply in the last decade. Crossing data on the consumption and grain storage capacity, we were able to account that Portugal could only survive 27 days with the stocks available at the time. We therefore concluded that we do not possess enough stored grain to meet a shock similar to the undertaken study. In order to address the problem, it was suggested the imposition of a preventive measure: the creation of a physical reserve of security based on cooperation and solidarity between UE countries, which significantly reduces the risks associated with a possible shock in food grain supply in Portugal.

Date of Award	12 Jul 2016
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Miguel Sottomayor (Supervisor)