Evaluation of the efficiency of eucalyptus clones in commercial scale: an approach using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

This study aims to identify which clones present technical efficiency improvements regarding their cutting age, helping the decision-making as to their best cutting ages and which clones shall be either excluded or maintained in the next production cycles. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology is discussed to determine and to compare the technical efficiency of eucalyptus clones of the genuses Eucaplyptus urophylla and Eucalyptus grand's in commercial scale. They were produced between 2016 and 2017, with cutting ages equal to five and seven years. Their plantation occurred in areas of sandy soils, and warm, temperate climate in order to produce cellulose and paper. The plantation belongs to a company located in the state of Sao Paulo. The calculation of the technical efficiency and its current values, clearances, targets and benchmarks throughout the years are determined by the variables total cost, individual volume, and produced volume. The DEA BCC-O model was employed due to the little proportionality of some input-output pairs. Clones CL02, CL03, CL05, and CL08 seemed to be efficient in both cutting ages. This indicated that they were likely benchmarks for the inefficient clones. However, clone CL04 was the only one which exclusion of the clone list to be used in the next plantation cycles was suggested since it presented a reduction in its individual volume and basic density, when an improvement in its cutting age occurs. We concluded that the DEA methodology is a good choice for helping the decision-making regarding which eucalyptus clones shall be used, reduced, and/or eliminated from the next cycle, determining which ones are the most efficient ones, verifying their evolution about their cutting ages.