Analysis of the Role of Intermediaries in the Traditional Agricultural Market. Case Study Antioquia, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction. This paper analyzes the participation of intermediaries in the traditional agricultural market for fresh fruits and vegetables in the department of Antioquia, Colombia; their results serve as support to explain the relationships between intermediaries with producers, consumers, and other intermediaries. The Objective is to analyze the role of intermediaries and their bargaining power; In order to explore the different interactions, system conditions and the advantages and disadvantages, the similarities that some marketplace intermediaries presents are analyzed, Materials and methods. for this purpose, interviews and a structured questionnaire were conducted with 26 intermediaries located in 13 municipalities of the 9 subregions. from Antioquia; additionally, some questionnaires were made to intermediaries of neighborhood stores, consumers and producers to contrast different points of view. The information obtained was subjected to a cluster analysis, multivariate analysis, comparison of several samples and an analysis of main components, the Results showed that intermediaries eliminate negotiation borders by defining trade criteria, they have a large participation both in origin and on offer and show similarities between area and area that do not precisely correspond to geographical proximity. Conclusion. In sum, given the high participation of these agents in the food supply chains, it is they who take advantage of the failures and dynamics of the system to define negotiation rules when they are in their role as sellers to other intermediaries or when they are in the role from buyers to producers.