Marketing Agricultural Commodities in Pichincha Province, Ecuador

Abstract

rT HE Ecuadorian government has adopted a policy of planning and some state direction to achieve rapid economic growth. In agriculture, land is being redistributed and a wide range of experimental programs are being developed.1 However, rapidly rising food prices in Quito, the nation's capital, and in other urban areas have led planners to preclude large price increases for producers as a means of increasing rural prosperity, at least for the present. One possible avenue of compromise between increasing rural wealth and maintaining stable food prices is to increase the efficiency of the marketing-transportation system for agricultural commodities. This paper describes the processes and channels through which commodities are exchanged between agricultural producers and the urban consumer in Quito, Pichincha Province. The primary concern is to present an overview of the system in terms of interconnectivity by function. Variation in this interconnectivity by subregion within Pichincha Province will be stressed, as will the positions of various types and sizes of producers with regard to market channels.2 Internal food-distribution systems in low-income countries have generally been studied in a decidedly rural context. My research, in contrast, centers on the ability of a particular system to supply one large metropolitan area. The all-important metropolitan component of marketing systems in low-income countries must be