AGRICULTURE
Presented by:
Jackie
Clausell
Melany D.
Michelena
Daniel De La Vega
Linda Lehmann
Ana Terc
Nicole
Coyne
Executive
Summary
Many less developed countries (LDC) are shifting from traditional
to nontraditional crops with the hope that exports can be expanded. For
example,
Economies may be realized if production and marketing functions are
concentrated geographically. In fact, US per capita consumption are 132 pounds
of fruits and over 186 pounds of vegetables. Supplying the
All imported products are required to
meet the same standards as domestic goods.
Imported foods must be pure, wholesome, safe to eat, and produced under
sanitary conditions. The larger Guatemalan importers frequently
have their own source of capital abroad, which can be used to finance or to
leverage financing for imports.
Table of
Contents
Section 1: Product Description………………………………………….4
Section 2: Statistical Data………………………………………………..8
Section 3: Market Characteristics……………………………………..14
Section 4: Market Access……………………………………………….14
Section 5: Prices…………………………………………………………31
Section 6: Distribution Channels ………………………………………33
Section 7: Commercial Practices………………………………………36
Section 8: Packing-Types Used: Crates and Labels………………...42
Section 9: Marketing Perspectives and Sales
Promotion……………46
Section 10: Importers List and Distribution
Networks………………..54
Section 11: Upcoming Commercial Events/Trade
Shows………….55
Section
1: Product Description
With a population
of 10 millions and a labor force exceeding 2.8 million, the largest in the
Central American region,
Increasing
foreign exchange problems and failing prices of traditional export commodities
are leading agricultural policymakers to seek diversification in export crop
production. Export vegetables, which are non-traditional crops, appear to be a
promising option because of their high labor intensity and expanded demand in
high labor intensity and expanded demand in industrialized countries.
Carrots:
Usage: Eating
fresh, salads, cooked, stir-fry, juicing.
Selection: Good
quality carrots will be firm, smooth-skinned, straight-shaped and well-colored
with no blemishes. The deeper the orange coloring of the carrot, the higher the
beta carotene content.
Avoid: Avoid
carrots that are wilting, soft, crooked, are split or are growing thin
hair-like roots. Those with large green areas at the top or that have dark
blemishes or brown coloring of any kind are also undesirable.
Serving size 1
medium (78g)
Calories 40
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 50mg
Total Carbohydrate 9g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Protein 1g
Carrots are a
leading source e of vitamin A in the Guatemalan diet. Analyses of carrots using
high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC') indicated that carrots have more
than twice the amount of ß carotene reported in the Latin American food
composition tables. A intake in
Celery:
Usage: Eating
fresh, cooking and salads.
Selection:
Good-quality celery should have even-colored, unblemished and smoothed-skinned
stalks. Leaves should be fresh with no signs of wilting. Contrary to popular
belief, light green stalks taste better than those that are dark green. Scratch
the butt-end of the celery with your fingernail. A sweet or bitter smell means
sweet or bitter flavor.
Avoid: While
light green stalks are preferred, avoid celery with white stalks which
indicates old product.- Stalks that are soft, spreading out and bend are also
signs of old product. Thick veins and rough inside surfaces indicate over-aged
and tough celery.
Serving size 2
medium stalks (110g)
Calories 25
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 125mg
Total Carbohydrate 5g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Protein 1g
Onions:
Usage: Raw in
salads, barbecued on shish kebabs, in stews and soups, on sandwiches and in
meat dishes.
Selection:
Good-quality white onions will be firm, free of blemishes or mold spots and
have even-colored, paper-dry skin. Some feel that sweeter onions will be
flat-shaped from stem to root-end, not round. Store onions in a dry, dark,
well-ventilated place; not in the refrigerator.
Avoid: Avoid
product that is soft, wet-skinned, bruised, has dark blemishes or spots of mold.
Serving size 1
medium (148g)
Calories 60
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 5mg
Total Carbohydrate 16g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Protein 1g
Cabbage:
Usage: Salads,
Oriental cooking, stir-fry, pickling, braised.
Selection: Also
called Chinese cabbage,
Avoid: Avoid
cabbage that has thin, wilted leaves which are a sign of old product.
Light-colored heads that are very solid mean all core and less taste. Flowering
in the end of the cabbage means it has been grown too long.
Lettuce
Head:
Usage: Eating fresh,
cooking and salads.
Selection:
Good-quality celery should have even-colored, unblemished and smoothed-skinned
stalks. Leaves should be fresh with no signs of wilting. Contrary to popular
belief, light green stalks taste better than those that are dark green. Scratch
the butt-end of the celery with your fingernail. A sweet or bitter smell means
sweet or bitter flavor.
Avoid: While
light green stalks are preferred, avoid celery with white stalks which
indicates old product.- Stalks that are soft, spreading out and bend are also
signs of old product. Thick veins and rough inside surfaces indicate over-aged
and tough celery.
Serving size 2
medium stalks (110g)
Calories 25
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 125mg
Total Carbohydrate 5g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Protein 1g
Cucumber:
Usage: Salads,
sandwiches or on vegetable platters.
Selection: Good
quality cucumbers are an even dark-green color, firm and relatively thin but
can be either long or short.
Avoid: Avoid
cucumbers that are soft, yellow or wrinkled on the ends. Huge fat cucumbers may
be full of large seeds and bitter.
Serving size 1/3
medium (99g)
Calories 15
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 3g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Protein 1g
Tropical
Fruit Concentrated Juice:
The fruit
concentrates are taken from fresh fruits of the highest quality -- clean, ripe,
healthy tropical fruits. The fruits are selected and filtered through a
rigorous quality control system so that all of the concentrates have the best
flavors and highest vitamin content while meeting up to international quality
standards. The trade in tropical juices
developed in early 70’s as alternatives to orange juice, in response to
successive orange crop short falls. Production facilities were developed in
Section
2: Statistical Data
Carrots:
About 1.5-billion pounds of carrots
are annually produced and marketed throughout the
Carrots constitute a valuable export
crop, especially to
Exports are expected to grow a rate
of 1.7 percent per year with total exports forecasted to reach 3.7-million cwt
and imports reaching 2.5-milliom cwt, which maintains the
carrots.
Cabbage:
After a steady decline between the
1920s and the 1990s, cabbage has gained 7 percent in per capita use between
1990-92 and 2000-02. Although total cabbage consumption rose to 10.3 pounds per
person in the early 2000s, it still remains 57 percent in the 1920s, when
cabbage use averaged 22 pounds per person.
According to estimates by the USDA’s
Economic Research, processed deli-type coleslaw accounts for 40 to 45 percent
of use, fresh head cabbage around 35 percent, sauerkraut 12 percent, and
various fresh-cut products 5 to 10 percent. A small amount of cabbage is
dehydrated for sue as a flavoring agent in soups and other dehydrated foods.
Retail sales of fresh-cut bagged coleslaw averaged about $70 million in 2000
and 2001, which translates into 4 percent of the $2-million fresh-cut salad
retail industry.
Fresh-market cabbage consumption
averaged a steady 8.5 pounds in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The 1990s saw
increased use of red cabbage in fresh-cut salad mixes and popularity of
fresh-cut bagged coleslaw, which increased total consumption. Sauerkraut use
has remained at a steady 1.3 pounds per person over the past decade.
The United States accounts for 4
percent of world cabbage production, ranking sixth behind China, which accounts
for 38 percent of world output, India, Russia, South Korea, and Japan.
Fresh-market cabbage shipments peak
in March because of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and
cabbage. In fact, about 14 percent of the domestic crop is marketed in March,
compared with 10 percent for February and December (the next most popular
months. Volume is lowest in July at a mere 4 percent of annual shipments.
In any given year, 98 percent of
cabbage used for sauerkraut is grown under contract with processors and
open-market purchases are limited to a few hundred acres. According to the 1997
Census of Manufacturers, seven firms manufacturing sauerkraut has sales over
$100,000, which is the same number as in 1992. These seven manufacturers
shipped the equivalent of about 10 million gallons, valued at $20.5 million, to
distributors and retailers.
The
Onions:
According to the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization onions are grown in over 175 countries. With almost
seven million acres under cultivation, production accounts for 105-million
pounds of onions for a number of markets.
Imported onions remain an important
part of the
The
Onions rank fifth among all
vegetables in terms of both consumption ands value. In the
According to Texas A&M, the
majority of fresh and processed onions are purchased at retail stores for
in-home use, while 37 percent of frozen onions are purchased away from home for
fast-food use. In the
Lettuce:
The
Total imports into the
Per capita consumption of head
lettuce averaged 22.7 pounds per capita from 1972 to 2001, peaking at 26.7
pounds in 1989. Annual demand of romaine and leaf lettuce has steadily
increased from three pounds per capita in 1985 to eight pounds in 2000;
consumption was 7.7 pounds in 2001.
Celery:
U.S consumers have maintained a
steady per capita celery use of about 7 pounds per year over the past four
decades.
The
The
Cucumbers:
The
During the 1990s, about 8 percent of
fresh market volume was exported. Since the late 1980s exports have been
declining and stood at a mere 4 percent in 1999. Although
Imports of fresh cucumbers are
highest in January and February when
Per capita use of cucumbers has
risen during each of the four decades. Use totaled 10.3 pounds in the 1990s, up
from 9.8 in the 1980s. Pickling use has declined since peaking at 6.1 pounds
per capita in 1976. Fresh market use has accounted for all the growth over the
past 20 years and reached a record high of 6.9 pounds in 1999. About 60 percent
of cucumber consumption is in fresh form and the remainder in pickled products.
According to the USDA, 85 percent of fresh cucumbers are consumed at home.
Also, 45 percent of pickled cucumbers are consumed away from home. One-third of
all pickled cucumbers are used in fast foods, with the majority in sandwiches
and condiments.
Section 3: Market Characteristics
A. Consumer Preferences:
Top vegetable prospects in order include:
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B. Quality Standards:
The
Cabbage:
Look for: Firm or hard heads of cabbage that are
heavy for their size. Outer leaves should be a good green or red color
(depending on type), reasonably fresh, and free from serious blemishes. The
outer leaves (called "wrapper" leaves) fit loosely on the head and
are usually discarded, but too many loose wrapper leaves on a head cause extra
waste.
Avoid: New cabbage with wilted or decayed outer
leaves or with leaves turned decidedly yellow. Worm-eaten outer leaves often
indicate that the worm injury penetrates into the head. Storage cabbage with badly discolored, dried,
or decayed outer leaves probably is over-aged. Separation of the stems of
leaves from the central stem at the base of the head also indicates over-age.
Carrots:
Look for: Carrots, which are well formed, smooth,
well colored, and firm. If tops are attached, they should be fresh and of a
good green color.
Avoid: Roots with large green
"-sunburned" areas at the top (which must be trimmed) and roots,
which are flabby from wilting or show spots of soft rot.
Celery:
Look for: Freshness and crispness in celery. The
stalk should have a solid, rigid feel and leaflets should be fresh or only
slightly wilted. Also, look for a glossy surface, stalks of light green or
medium green and mostly green leaflets.
Avoid: Wilted celery and celery with flabby upper
branches or leaf stems. Celery with pithy, hollow, or discolored centers in the
branches also should be avoided. Celery with internal discoloration will show
some gray or brown on the inside surface of the larger branches near where they
are attached to the base of the stalk.
Cucumber:
Look for: Cucumbers with good green color that are
firm over their entire length. They should be well developed, but not too large
in diameter.
Avoid: Overgrown cucumbers that are large in
diameter and have a dull color, turning yellowish. Also, avoid cucumbers with
withered or shriveled ends -- signs of toughness and bitter flavor.
Lettuce:
Iceberg lettuce is the major type. Heads are large, round,
and solid, with medium-green outer leaves and lighter green or pale-green inner
leaves.
Butter-head lettuce, including the Big Boston and Bibb
varieties, has a smaller head than iceberg. This type will have soft, succulent
light-green leaves in a rosette pattern in the center.
Romaine lettuce plants are tall and cylindrical with
crisp, dark-green leaves in a loosely folded head.
Leaf lettuce includes many varieties -- none with a
compact head. Leaves are broad, tender, succulent, and smooth, and they vary in
color according to variety.
Look for: Signs of freshness in lettuce. For iceberg
lettuce and Romaine, the leaves should be crisp. Other lettuce types will have
a softer texture, but leaves should not be wilted. Look for a good, bright
color -- in most varieties, medium to light green. Some varieties have red
leaves.
Avoid: Heads of iceberg type which are very hard
and which lack green color (signs of over maturity). Such heads sometimes
develop discoloration of the inner leaves and midribs, and may have a less
desirable flavor. Also, avoid heads with irregular shapes and hard bumps on
top, which indicate the presence of overgrown central stems.
Onions:
The many varieties of onions grown commercially fall into three
general classes, distinguished by color: yellow, white, and red.
Look for: Hard or firm onions, which are dry and
have small necks. They should be reasonably free from green sunburn spots or
other blemishes.
Avoid: Onions with wet or very soft necks, which
usually are immature or affected by decay. Also, avoid onions with thick,
hollow, woody centers in the neck or with fresh sprouts.
Tropical Fruit Concentrated Juice:
The quality and flavor of the
extracted juices depend on ripeness, processing and storage conditions. They
are susceptible to degradation during thermal processing and require capture
and recovery of volatiles during the evaporation stage, in order to maintain
high quality.
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Primary factors impacting fresh produce purchases |
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- 87% Expectations of taste |
- 41% Item in season |
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- 83% General appearance |
- 39% Knowledge of how to prepare |
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- 74% Cleanliness |
- 33% Appearance of display |
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- 70% Degree of ripeness |
- 27% Complements main entrée |
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- 57% Nutritional value |
- 14% Where it is grown |
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- 47% Price |
- 12% Organically grown |
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Safety issues impacting produce purchases |
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C. Market Segment:
Markets for new crops may be local, regional, national or global. Some firms will have a choice as to market scope. Growers who are in close proximity to consumers may select a local market and perform many or all of the marketing functions. As the scope of the market expands, marketing functions become more complex and the coordinating role becomes more important. Economies may be realized if production and marketing functions are concentrated geographically. These economies may arise from synergistic relations among firms, development of a pool of persons with needed skills and knowledge, size economies in production or processing, visibility and reputation for quality and dependability, and sharing of technologies. Medical research and technology are raising health consciousness of consumers. Consumption will expand for foods considered nutritious, low in calories, free of chemical and pharmaceutical additives, and low in substances associated with heart and circulatory problems. A recent study of tropical fruits found that the following conditions may be expected to result in increased tropical fruit expenditure: residing in the Western region, living in a central city area, having a college education, being of Spanish origin, having both spouses involved in meal planning, having higher income, and having a higher proportion of household members over 15 years of age. Tropical fruit expenditures increased about 6% for each 10% increase in income. About 85% of the increase in consumption of tropical associated with increases in income was the result of market entry by no consuming households as opposed to higher levels of consumption by households already, purchasing tropical. Once possible vegetable markets have been segmented, the task becomes one of deciding which markets to target. After segmentation, certain target market options exist:
1. Aim at the entire market (all segments)
with a single marketing approach.
2. Pursue several different segments with
different marketing approaches for each segment.
3. Focus on just one segment with a very
direct marketing approach.
In the produce marketing, it is probably
best to employ the second option and target two or three segments including a
primary market, a secondary market and a salvage market. The primary market is
the market in which the grower would like to compete. The secondary market is one in which prices may be lower
but the market may be closer in proximity, allowing the grower to compete more
directly. The salvage market may be a direct market alternative or a direct
wholesale operation directed toward final consumers.
For each of the target markets selected,
the grower should attempt to assess the following buyer needs or
characteristics:
·
grades,
sizes and volume to be purchased
·
shipment
and delivery dates
·
prices
to be received (any price adjustments)
·
transportation
costs
·