Abstract:
Corn producers need to find the best alternative to sell the production; selling before harvest, during the harvest, in the future market or store to sell in the off-season period. However, this is not an easy task because the crop is affected by several variables. In this study, we analyzed international and Brazilian corn production data to find out the best strategy of corn commercialization for Mato Grosso do Sul State (Brazil) producers. We considered four variables alltogether: logistics, price, productivity and product availability. The multicriteria analysis was done using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) using the software Expert Choice (c) v.11. The results indicated that the best decision for growers in Mato Grosso do Sul is selling the corn production in the off-season. Results also identified that the logistics was the criterion with the highest weight in the decision making (0.467).
Key-words:
AHP; Corn production; Grain logistics; Mato Grosso do Sul State.