REGIONAL CONCENTRATION OF CHARCOAL PRODUCTION IN THE STATE OF PARAÍBA, BRAZIL (1994 - 2016)

ABSTRACT Charcoal has an economic, social and environmental importance, because in addition to being a source of energy, it generates employment and income in the rural environment. Therefore, knowing your market is fundamental for the decision-making of those segments that depend on this raw material. This work analyzed the regional concentration of charcoal production in the state of Paraíba, Brazil, from 1994 to 2016. The data used to measure the regional production concentration (in tons) of native Paraíba charcoal were obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) from 1994 to 2016. The indicators used were the Concentration Ratio [CR(k)], the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), Theil's entropy index (E) and the Gini Index (G). The main results show that the mesorregions of Borborema and Sertão Paraibano present concentrations in charcoal production from Paraíba. The CR(k) of the municipalities had a low to moderately low concentration and a moderately high to a high concentration for the microregions; the HHI and E showed deconcentration tendencies from competitive markets; the G showed strong to very strong inequality for the municipalities and microregions on average. It is concluded that the concentration of charcoal production at regional levels is not concentrated, even though it presents a moderate concentration in the partial indices [CR(k)] for the Paraíba microregions.