Valoración económica del consumo y producción de materias primas para la fabricación de biodiésel en Guatemala

Economic valuation of consumption and production of raw materials for the manufacturing of biodiesel in Guatemala

Abstract

Objective: make an economic valuation of the consumption and production of raw materials for the production of biodiesel in Guatemala. Methodology: was the Contingent Valuation Method (MVC) to estimate the economic-environmental value that consumers and producers give to the production of the raw materials Higuerillo (Ricinus communis) and Piñón (Jatropha curcas) for the generation of biodiesel. In the case of the African Palm (Elaeis guinnensis), the valuation method called Productivity Change was used to establish the surplus of the producer and the Contingent Valuation Method to determine the consumers surplus. Results: The results of the environmental economic valuation analysis, report total welfare or surpluses for the consumption of biodiesel. The production of the three raw materials at present value in the order of US $71 billion for a period of fifteen years and with the goal replacing 80% of diesel with biodiesel with the cultivation and production of 374,832 hectares. Of this total surplus, 99.76% is given by the consumer’s surplus that the welfare of the producers of raw materials at current value was estimated at US $169 million. Limitations: are those of the economic valuation methodology that was used, since generating hypothetical markets can lead to information biases that are reduced by the statistical techniques used. Conclusions: it is recommended that the allocation of resources should be oriented to the demand of the buyers that most value the consumption of biodiésel, that is to say those that show a greater disposition to pay (DAP).