Harvest and Distribution planning model for a fruit supply chain

Abstract

A production planning problem related to income is addressed in a fruit supply chain of small producers, who prefer not to harvest if the market price does not allow their costs to be recovered. A mathematical model is proposed to represent the harvest decision where three elements are considered: the product perishability, the market prices behavior, and finally how much to harvest. This paper establishes that the income improvement of small agricultural producers is a strategy to support the socio-economic development of this sector. The model applied in a small citrus producer’s case study show that adequate harvest planning allows establishing a relationship between prices and sales to maximize small producer profits.