ANALYSIS OF SMALL PRODUCERS IN THE COFFEE AND TEA SUPPLY CHAINS: A RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY BETWEEN COLOMBIA AND ARGENTINA

Abstract

Coffee in Boyacá, Colombia, and Tea in Misiones, Argentina, are very important in the
economy of their regions and for the export of these products. Small producers in their supply
chains have logistical problems in their production and commercialization. This paper presents a
preliminary analysis of both supply chains, carried out from a review on the production of coffee
and tea in these regions, with emphasis on small producers. A review of supply chain modeling was also done, mainly on the supply chains of coffee in Colombia and tea in Argentina. Problems
related to intermediation were identified, which decreases the profit for small producers and causes
dependency on others generally larger companies. In addition, problems in operations planning
were identified, and drawbacks in methods and technologies, which are disadvantages compared
to other producers. Disintermediation is proposed as a possible strategy, which must be carefully
designed. As research opportunities detected, in the literature there are no simultaneous case studies
of both supply chains in Latin America; about tea, there are few studies on modeling that include
Argentine producers