Mudanças nas relações contratuais na citricultura: um estudo de caso

Abstract

This paper describes a study on the evolution of contracts used in transactions between orange producers and the processing industry. Its goal is to analyze changes in contracts signed from 1978 to 2004, and to establish the influence of the institutional environment. Three distinct types of contract were identified in the citric network, all of them related to the orange market: fixed price contracts, standard contracts and post-standard contract contracts. Many changes occurred in this period, the most important of which were associated with the tendency of moving from standard contracts to post-standard-contract contracts. In this research, an analysis was made of specific variables in contractual clauses, and how these parameters depended on the company assets, including building infra-structures, dedicated assets and human resources. In this context, the paper indicates the main changes in the variables and in its causes, according to the institutional and/or strategic environment of the industries. Among those changes, it is possible to emphasize the harvest responsibility and fruit transportation, quality standards required by the processing industry, extended contractual relationships (two harvests or more), price and payment policy.