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Abstract(s)
ApĆ³s a derrocada do sector agrĆcola que viu o valor das importaƧƵes aumentar com a adesĆ£o de Portugal Ć UniĆ£o Europeia, bem como a estagnaĆ§Ć£o continuada dos rendimentos agrĆcolas, a castanha foi o produto que, ao contrĆ”rio dos outros produtos agrĆcolas, viu o seu preƧo (e o consumo) aumentar por todo o mundo, passando de āproduto de sobrevivĆŖnciaā das populaƧƵes rurais a āproduto de valor acrescentado qualidadeā. HĆ” muito, que a castanha portuguesa se impƵe no mercado internacional, sendo um dos privilegiados frutos que contribui para o saldo positivo da balanƧa comercial de frutos.
O aumento da Ć”rea de plantio, da produĆ§Ć£o, das exportaƧƵes, da qualidade e a tendĆŖncia global para o aumento do consumo deste fruto, foram, entre outros, aspectos a considerar no estudo desenvolvido sobre a cadeia de valor e o sistema de comercializaĆ§Ć£o da mais importante regiĆ£o portuguesa na produĆ§Ć£o de castanha, nomeadamente a Terra Fria Transmontana. Caracterizar a fileira da castanha, descrever os perfis dos agentes, identificar e perceber como funcionam os vĆ”rios elos do sistema de comercializaĆ§Ć£o, analisar as estratĆ©gias de compra e venda de castanha, identificar as mais-valias do fruto em cada elo, e finalmente propor medidas ā a nĆvel tĆ©cnico, organizacional e polĆticas afins ā que permitam aos produtores da regiĆ£o de produĆ§Ć£o partilhar mais plenamente os benefĆcios que a produĆ§Ć£o da castanha Ć© sem dĆŗvida alguma capaz de gerar, foram os objectivos especĆficos definidos nesta investigaĆ§Ć£o.
Assim, esta dissertaĆ§Ć£o dividiu-se essencialmente em duas fases. Na primeira, fez-se o enquadramento da temĆ”tica em estudo; na segunda, efectuaram-se a interpretaĆ§Ć£o, a descriĆ§Ć£o e a anĆ”lise dos resultados.
Feito o ponto da situaĆ§Ć£o do estado actual da arte ao nĆvel da fileira da castanha (comercializaĆ§Ć£o, mercados, qualidade, tendĆŖncias de consumo, factores ambientais e constrangimentos) complementado por entrevistas aos principais agentes de comercializaĆ§Ć£o, concluĆmos que, na complexa engrenagem do sistema de comercializaĆ§Ć£o de castanha, os agentes se distribuem por vĆ”rios elos da cadeia de valor incorporando diferentes serviƧos e funƧƵes ā desde os produtores, ajuntadores, armazenistas-exportadores (onde se incorporam tambĆ©m as unidades de transformaĆ§Ć£o), āmagusteirosā aos āagentes de controlo no destinoā.
Os produtores adoptam entre si mĆŗltiplas estratĆ©gias na venda da castanha, permanecendo nesta fase, sob a dependĆŖncia dos ajuntadores, āmagusteiros e armazenistas-exportadores. Os ajuntadores, localmente, concentram a produĆ§Ć£o para a venderem por grosso aos armazenistas-exportadores e os āmagusteirosā, vindos de fora, compram o fruto a granel ao produtor, a fim de o distribuĆrem no mercado nacional aos retalhistas. Os āagentes de controlo no destinoā, essencialmente localizados no Brasil, FranƧa, ItĆ”lia e Espanha, recebem a castanha do armazenista-exportador e distribuem-na no paĆs de destino.
O valor acrescentado obtido internamente Ć© mais comercial do que industrial, ou seja, o produto Ć© calibrado, limpo e desinfectado pelos armazenistas-exportadores e distribuĆdo aos compradores a jusante, para consumo fresco ou para transformaĆ§Ć£o. Embora os armazenistas-exportadores executem a separaĆ§Ć£o da castanha por vĆ”rios lotes de diferentes variedades e calibres e o tratamento do fruto para distribuiĆ§Ć£o no mercado interno e externo, hĆ” apenas uma preocupaĆ§Ć£o mĆnima no tratamento industrial ā onde, em adiĆ§Ć£o aos processos de graduaĆ§Ć£o e desinfecĆ§Ć£o mencionados, se verifica ainda o descasque e a congelaĆ§Ć£o da castanha ā para alĆ©m destas operaƧƵes, nĆ£o ocorre mais nenhuma transformaĆ§Ć£o fĆsica da castanha, Ć qual, mais nenhum valor de laboraĆ§Ć£o Ć© atribuĆdo. Os outros operadores ā produtores, ajuntadores, āmagusteirosā e agentes de controlo no destino ā acrescentam apenas mais-valias comerciais ao fruto.
Acerca da competitividade da fileira, enunciaremos alguns dos constrangimentos e potencialidades que se salientaram ao longo da investigaĆ§Ć£o. Os mais importantes constrangimentos compreendem: (a) baixa produtividade dos soutos; (b) aumento dos problemas de fitossanidade, devido, entre outros, ao incremento das Ć”reas de plantaĆ§Ć£o e escassez de mĆ£o-de-obra a que se associa o aumento generalizado do seu custo; (c) dĆ©fice de organizaĆ§Ć£o entre os produtores para a comercializaĆ§Ć£o do produto; (d) desertificaĆ§Ć£o do meio rural e elevada faixa etĆ”ria no elo da produĆ§Ć£o; (e) concorrĆŖncia desleal; (f) prĆ”ticas especulativas; (g) assimetria do poder negocial entre as grandes superfĆcies e os fornecedores; (h) ameaƧa de forte concorrĆŖncia dos paĆses de Leste (incluindo a Turquia) por via do alargamento da UniĆ£o Europeia e (i) massificaĆ§Ć£o da produĆ§Ć£o nacional pela introduĆ§Ć£o de variedades estrangeiras e progressiva supressĆ£o das variedades regionais.
No que se refere Ć s potencialidades, incluem-se: (a) bons rendimentos ā se bem que distribuĆdos de forma desigual ā para todos os agentes de comercializaĆ§Ć£o; (b) entrada de divisas no paĆs com os mercados de exportaĆ§Ć£o; (c) produto muito valorizado e de prestĆgio no estrangeiro; (d) produto usado na alimentaĆ§Ć£o humana e animal; (e) grande facilidade de escoamento; (f) material genĆ©tico valioso; (g) produto biolĆ³gico; (h) investigaĆ§Ć£o em hĆbridos resistentes Ć s doenƧas da tinta e cancro; (i) aumento da procura de castanha previamente descascada e congelada para a indĆŗstria de transformaĆ§Ć£o; (j) desinfecĆ§Ć£o da castanha por via hĆŗmida em detrimento da via quĆmica e (k) colheita mecĆ¢nica.
Finalmente, as implicaƧƵes sugeridas pela pesquisa para a fileira incluiriam as seguintes acƧƵes prioritĆ”rias: alĆ©m do reforƧo da investigaĆ§Ć£o cientĆfica na luta contra os problemas fitossanitĆ”rios dos soutos, da elaboraĆ§Ć£o do cadastro, que permitiria saber quantos castanheiros estĆ£o neste momento infectados, da prĆ”tica de tĆ©cnicas culturais com vista Ć utilizaĆ§Ć£o da colheita mecĆ¢nica para mitigar a diminuiĆ§Ć£o verificada em mĆ£o-de-obra no Interior e o recurso a mĆ£o-de-obra estrangeira residente em Portugal, os constrangimentos da fileira sĆ³ serĆ£o ultrapassados quando for transposta a barreira do individualismo, pela constituiĆ§Ć£o de organismos associativos coesos, de forma a permitir o aumento do valor acrescentado da castanha na origem. O sector produtivo poderia, desta forma, ocupar ā embora de forma limitada ā os elos comerciais e industriais que se situam a jusante. As acƧƵes a desenvolver no seio da fileira deverĆ£o passar, pois por uma mudanƧa de atitudes de modo a gerar consensos entre os vĆ”rios elos da cadeia de valor, visando sobretudo a selecĆ§Ć£o das variedades de castanha a produzir (regionais ou normalizaĆ§Ć£o dos calibres), os tratamentos a efectuar (via quĆmica ou via hĆŗmida), a reduĆ§Ć£o da especulaĆ§Ć£o e a dinamizaĆ§Ć£o do associativismo.
The late 20th century collapse of the Portuguese agricultural sector was precipitated by substantial rises in imports resulting from the countryās accession to the European Union, along with a continued stagnation of farm incomes. Nevertheless, it was the chestnut, virtually alone among agricultural products, that bucked this trend. Both price and consumption levels rose worldwide, causing the chestnut to lose its former identity as a mere subsistence crop of the rural population and quickly become a whose potential lay in the value-added to be derived from product quality. Since then, the Portuguese chestnut has imposed itself on the world market, and its place among the few crops that has permitted the countryās trade balance in fruit produce to remain positive. Increases in the area under chestnut, and the associated levels of production, quality and exports, combined with the rising world demand for this item, were important elements (among others) that needed to be addressed in the present study of the value chain and the commercialisation system of the most important component of Portuguese production chestnut ā namely that of the Terra Fria Transmontana area. Thus the main objectives of the present study were to characterise the chestnut filiĆØre, specify the actors involved in the commercialisation of the product, identify the various links in the commercialisation chain and their functions, analyse the corresponding chestnut buying and selling strategies, identify the relative importance of the value-added to be earned at each stage of the process, and finally to propose improvements ā technical, organisational and policy-related ā that would permit growers in the area of origin to share more fully in the benefits that chestnut production is undoubtedly capable of generating. On the basis of the above-mentioned aims, the dissertation essentially comprises two parts: the first, in which the theoretical framework and contextualisation of the theme is provided; and the second, in which the results of the study are presented and then interpreted with a view to drawing conclusions regarding policy improvements. Drawing on the most up-to-date published information available on the contours and dynamic of the chestnut filiĆØre (production, commercialisation, markets, quality, consumption trends, environmental issues and constraints), complemented by detailed interviews with some of the principal actors in the commercialisation circuits, it became clear that there exists a complex interlocking system of links in the value chain, pertaining to fairly distinct types of functional involvement in the chestnut trade ā ranging from the producers themselves, to ābuyers-upā (or ābulkersā), and warehousing/exporting companies (in which category we also include magusteiros or those also providing some initial processing of the product, as well as agents whose commercial function is more oriented towards downstream logistics i.e. directing the product towards its final destination. Producers, largely dominated by ābuyers-upā, magusteiros and warehousing/exporting firms, adopt multiple strategies in order to sell their chestnuts. The buyers-up bring together relatively small quantities of chestnuts from individual producers (or small groups) concentrated in a particular geographical zone, channelling the produce on a bulk basis to magusteiros (almost exclusively from outside the Terra Fria Transmontana) who in turn sell on to warehousing/exporting firms who supply the final retailers. The agents involved in directing the produce to its final (or pre-final) destination are mainly based in Brazil, France, Italy and Spain, essentially receive the chestnuts from the warehousing/exporting firms and distribute to customers in their own country. The value-added earned by all of the above-mentioned functional links in the value chain is commercial rather than industrial, i.e. the produce are not transformed, except inasmuch as they are bulked, sorted, disinfected to reduce perishability and subsequently directed to downstream purchasers, principally commercial, but also industrial. Though warehousing/exporting wholesalers separate the produce into lots based on variety and size, disinfect the chestnuts and then distribute them on both the internal and external markets, it is only in the relatively few industrial concerns ā where, in addition to the grading and disinfecting processes mentioned above, chestnuts are typically skinned and/or frozen ā that any physical transformation of the chestnut takes place, to which any manufacturing value added might be attributed. The study also highlights a number of competitive constraints and potentialities that characterise the filiĆØre, evidence of which was encountered throughout the period of study. The following constraints appeared to be the most important: (a) low productivity of chestnut stands; (b) growing problems of maintaining the health of chestnut trees due to a combination of the rapid expansion of the area planted and increased labour costs associated with manpower shortages; (c) poor collaboration and/or organisation among producers with regard to the commercialisation of the crop; (d) the ongoing rural demographic decline and associated ageing of the population actively involved in chestnut production; (e) various types of unfair competition; (f) speculative practices; (g) unequal bargaining power of key hyper-market outlets and chestnut suppliers; (h) the threat of competition from Eastern European UE candidate members (including Turkey) and (i) the shift towards the planting foreign āmass marketā varieties and the consequent marginalisation of portuguese regional varieties. The following appear to be the key positive factors regarding the competitive potential of the filiĆØre: (a) good and improving earnings ā albeit unevenly distributed along the value chain ā for all involved in the filiĆØre; (b) higher foreign exchange earnings for the national economy as export markets flourish; (c) foreign consumers now attach greater value to the chestnut as a foodstuff; (d) produce used for both human foodstuffs and animal feed; (e) ease of distribution; (f) high grade, high value genetic material of Portuguese varieties; (g) much production is organic/ābiologicalā in nature; (h) successful research carried pout and applied on hybrids resistant to both ink disease and canker in chestnuts; (i) growing demand for industrially processed (skinned and/or frozen) chestnuts; (j) introduction of healthier and more environmentally-friendly āwetā (rather than āchemicalā) disinfecting processes and (k) technologies exist to extend use of mechanical harvesting. Finally, the policy implications suggested by the research include a number of priority measures. Clearly there is a need to strengthen scientific research into combating chestnut diseases, and efforts should be made to accurately map and estimate the number of infected trees. Also harvest mechanisation needs to be further encouraged and the mobility of foreign workers resident in Portugal increased, so as to mitigate the effects of labour shortages. However none of these measures, aimed at reducing some of the constraints to which the filiĆØre is subject, will be fully effective if there is no transformation of attitudes among the principal actors in the value-chain: the individualism of producers needs to be overcome, a more coherent form of associativism more deeply implanted, so that more value added can be retained in the locality where chestnuts are produced. Along the length and breadth of the filiĆØre, greater consensus is required, in particular, not only regarding the need to reduce speculation and promote associativism, but also the need to select which (regional) varieties to grow and on which size of chestnuts producers should concentrate, the adoption of safer and environmentally-friendlier methods of protecting chestnuts against deterioration in storage/transit.
The late 20th century collapse of the Portuguese agricultural sector was precipitated by substantial rises in imports resulting from the countryās accession to the European Union, along with a continued stagnation of farm incomes. Nevertheless, it was the chestnut, virtually alone among agricultural products, that bucked this trend. Both price and consumption levels rose worldwide, causing the chestnut to lose its former identity as a mere subsistence crop of the rural population and quickly become a whose potential lay in the value-added to be derived from product quality. Since then, the Portuguese chestnut has imposed itself on the world market, and its place among the few crops that has permitted the countryās trade balance in fruit produce to remain positive. Increases in the area under chestnut, and the associated levels of production, quality and exports, combined with the rising world demand for this item, were important elements (among others) that needed to be addressed in the present study of the value chain and the commercialisation system of the most important component of Portuguese production chestnut ā namely that of the Terra Fria Transmontana area. Thus the main objectives of the present study were to characterise the chestnut filiĆØre, specify the actors involved in the commercialisation of the product, identify the various links in the commercialisation chain and their functions, analyse the corresponding chestnut buying and selling strategies, identify the relative importance of the value-added to be earned at each stage of the process, and finally to propose improvements ā technical, organisational and policy-related ā that would permit growers in the area of origin to share more fully in the benefits that chestnut production is undoubtedly capable of generating. On the basis of the above-mentioned aims, the dissertation essentially comprises two parts: the first, in which the theoretical framework and contextualisation of the theme is provided; and the second, in which the results of the study are presented and then interpreted with a view to drawing conclusions regarding policy improvements. Drawing on the most up-to-date published information available on the contours and dynamic of the chestnut filiĆØre (production, commercialisation, markets, quality, consumption trends, environmental issues and constraints), complemented by detailed interviews with some of the principal actors in the commercialisation circuits, it became clear that there exists a complex interlocking system of links in the value chain, pertaining to fairly distinct types of functional involvement in the chestnut trade ā ranging from the producers themselves, to ābuyers-upā (or ābulkersā), and warehousing/exporting companies (in which category we also include magusteiros or those also providing some initial processing of the product, as well as agents whose commercial function is more oriented towards downstream logistics i.e. directing the product towards its final destination. Producers, largely dominated by ābuyers-upā, magusteiros and warehousing/exporting firms, adopt multiple strategies in order to sell their chestnuts. The buyers-up bring together relatively small quantities of chestnuts from individual producers (or small groups) concentrated in a particular geographical zone, channelling the produce on a bulk basis to magusteiros (almost exclusively from outside the Terra Fria Transmontana) who in turn sell on to warehousing/exporting firms who supply the final retailers. The agents involved in directing the produce to its final (or pre-final) destination are mainly based in Brazil, France, Italy and Spain, essentially receive the chestnuts from the warehousing/exporting firms and distribute to customers in their own country. The value-added earned by all of the above-mentioned functional links in the value chain is commercial rather than industrial, i.e. the produce are not transformed, except inasmuch as they are bulked, sorted, disinfected to reduce perishability and subsequently directed to downstream purchasers, principally commercial, but also industrial. Though warehousing/exporting wholesalers separate the produce into lots based on variety and size, disinfect the chestnuts and then distribute them on both the internal and external markets, it is only in the relatively few industrial concerns ā where, in addition to the grading and disinfecting processes mentioned above, chestnuts are typically skinned and/or frozen ā that any physical transformation of the chestnut takes place, to which any manufacturing value added might be attributed. The study also highlights a number of competitive constraints and potentialities that characterise the filiĆØre, evidence of which was encountered throughout the period of study. The following constraints appeared to be the most important: (a) low productivity of chestnut stands; (b) growing problems of maintaining the health of chestnut trees due to a combination of the rapid expansion of the area planted and increased labour costs associated with manpower shortages; (c) poor collaboration and/or organisation among producers with regard to the commercialisation of the crop; (d) the ongoing rural demographic decline and associated ageing of the population actively involved in chestnut production; (e) various types of unfair competition; (f) speculative practices; (g) unequal bargaining power of key hyper-market outlets and chestnut suppliers; (h) the threat of competition from Eastern European UE candidate members (including Turkey) and (i) the shift towards the planting foreign āmass marketā varieties and the consequent marginalisation of portuguese regional varieties. The following appear to be the key positive factors regarding the competitive potential of the filiĆØre: (a) good and improving earnings ā albeit unevenly distributed along the value chain ā for all involved in the filiĆØre; (b) higher foreign exchange earnings for the national economy as export markets flourish; (c) foreign consumers now attach greater value to the chestnut as a foodstuff; (d) produce used for both human foodstuffs and animal feed; (e) ease of distribution; (f) high grade, high value genetic material of Portuguese varieties; (g) much production is organic/ābiologicalā in nature; (h) successful research carried pout and applied on hybrids resistant to both ink disease and canker in chestnuts; (i) growing demand for industrially processed (skinned and/or frozen) chestnuts; (j) introduction of healthier and more environmentally-friendly āwetā (rather than āchemicalā) disinfecting processes and (k) technologies exist to extend use of mechanical harvesting. Finally, the policy implications suggested by the research include a number of priority measures. Clearly there is a need to strengthen scientific research into combating chestnut diseases, and efforts should be made to accurately map and estimate the number of infected trees. Also harvest mechanisation needs to be further encouraged and the mobility of foreign workers resident in Portugal increased, so as to mitigate the effects of labour shortages. However none of these measures, aimed at reducing some of the constraints to which the filiĆØre is subject, will be fully effective if there is no transformation of attitudes among the principal actors in the value-chain: the individualism of producers needs to be overcome, a more coherent form of associativism more deeply implanted, so that more value added can be retained in the locality where chestnuts are produced. Along the length and breadth of the filiĆØre, greater consensus is required, in particular, not only regarding the need to reduce speculation and promote associativism, but also the need to select which (regional) varieties to grow and on which size of chestnuts producers should concentrate, the adoption of safer and environmentally-friendlier methods of protecting chestnuts against deterioration in storage/transit.
Description
Keywords
Castanha Fileira Agentes EstratĆ©gias de comercializaĆ§Ć£o EspeculaĆ§Ć£o Poder negocial ConcorrĆŖncia
Citation
Matos, Alda - O sistema de comercializaĆ§Ć£o de castanha da Terra Fria Transmontana e sua cadeia de valor. Vila Real: UTAD, 2003. Tese de Mestrado