The Food Clusters Project in Minas Gerais, carried out by the state's government and sponsored by the World Bank in 2012, consisted in the identification, characterization and priorization of the food clusters in the state, as well as the elaboration of strategic plans and logistics and infrastructure solutions for the 4 selected clusters.

With the aim to identify and characterize the clusters inside the food sector in Minas Gerais, data and information from secondary sources were analyzed and interviews were also conducted with various actors (governments, associations, federations, companies, potential clusters institutions, etc). 

Many clusters were mapped, such as: Coffee cluster in South Minas Gerais, Coffee Cluster in Cerrado, Fresh Fruits Cluster in Jaiba, Processed Food and Distribution in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Food Technology Cluster in Viçosa, Dairy Products Cluster in South Minas Gerais, Poultry Meat Cluster in Triângulo Mineiro, etc.

The following matrix shows information related to each mapped cluster, which were used to priorizite the clusters:

• Dark blue balls represent High level
• Light blue balls represent Medium level
• White balls represent Low level

Photos 1 and 2

Based on data such as production, revenues, number of companies, number of employees, exportation, innovation, regional impact, maturity and organization, four clusters were selected:

  • Coffee Cluster in Cerrado region 
  • Fresh Fruits in Jaiba and region (banana, mango, lemon, etc) 
  • Processed Food and Distribution in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte
  • Food technology in Viçosa

Future strategies were defined to each of them through an analysis of the sector, interviews, international references and a travel to one of these references to see best practices. 

At last, an action plan was developed for each cluster, focusing on infrastructre and logistics as well as the management model. 

During the project, studies regarding the inward and outward fluxes were analyzed (quantity, through which way, costs) in order to provide suggestions of competitiveness improvement through the logistics chain. Also, infrastructure investments were analyzed and partnetships with the private sector were proposed. Many times the solutions were related to joint infrastructures to group good and gain negotiation/bargain power. Dry docks, packaging centers, stocking and distribution grids were recommended.

 


Belo Horizonte,Minas Gerais
Brasil