Production and Marketing Strategies of Spanish Citrus Farmers

Abstract

Farmers are constantly exhorted to be good marketers. This research explores the connection between production characteristics and producer business orientation in the Spanish citrus industry. The sector lends itself to this study because it is by far the world's largest exporter of fresh oranges and mandarins, and yet has been criticised for fundamental weaknesses not only in the structure of production systems but also in the patterns of marketing activity. Survey data from Valencia are used to test the assumption that specialised producers also possess enirepreneurial attitudes and attributes. Cluster analysis is used to identify strategic groups of producers according to production characteristics and producer business orientation. The complexity of the industry is found to defy simple polar hypotheses about “good” and “weak” structures and strategies.