Intermediate trade in cattle, fruits, roots and tubers in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica

Abstract

The objective of the study was to collect concrete information about the actors and their performance in the different marketing channels of some agricultural products cultivated in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. I collected data through literature research, by interviewing keyinformants and middlemen at different markets in Costa Rica. I interviewed 17 middlemen. Some were living in the Atlantic Zone and were trading in some other region of the country. other middlemen were living outside the Atlantic Zone but were buying products from the Atlantic Zone. I hardly met middlemen except for some cattle traders, who were both living and trading in the Zone. I interviewed some retailers in Guápiles, a supermarket chain and a processing plant near San José. I collected quantitative data on volumes and prices at the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) and the PIMA. The depth interviews contain questions about personal characteristics, purchase, sales, distribution channels, transport and degree of competition.