Palavras-chave: economia cafeira, custos de produção, competitividade, retornos aos investimentos.

COFFEE COMPETITIVENESS AND PRODUCTION

SYSTEMS WITHIN SAO PAULO STATEABSTRACT: This study estimates the costs of distinct coffee production systems in the four main productive regions of Sao Paulo pointing out their degrees of competitiveness. Results show that the more coffee plantations are thickened, the lower the costs and the higher the rate of return on the investments. It was also found that in spite of the limitations imposed by the size and slope of the planted area, the mechanical harvest significantly reduces production costs.Key-words: coffee economy, production costs, competitiveness, investment return.