Competitiveness Assessment Through Analytical Hierarchy Techniques in Agribusiness Exports.

AuthorDelfin-Ortega, Odette V.

INTRODUCTION

Today, agricultural products are industrialized by gaining greater marketing advantage than fresh products. For many years, agriculture and industry were characterized in different areas, due to the differences in shape and development in the national economy. According to the investigations of the FAO, this increase has been around 6% through the processing of cereals, fruits, vegetables, pulses, tropical drinks and poultry (FAO, 2007).

World problems caused by shortage of food is an item that relates to the general population, mainly because our state is highly agricultural. This tendency inclines us to research projects and programs designed to develop food under a highly competitive scheme.

However, although it has been a general trend in this area, the potential for development has not occurred in the same way in developed countries as in developing countries. Because of the abundance of resources and cheap labor, industrialization not specializing in agricultural products and is mentioned as not specialized, because in most cases the labor is not specialized (Acevedo, 2002).

Agriculture and industry have been traditionally regarded as two separate sectors due to their characteristics and role in economic growth (Iglesias, 2002). It has been estimated that agriculture is the characteristic feature of the first stage of development, while degree of industrialization is the most relevant indicator of a country's progress. In addition, it is argued that the appropriate strategy of development is the one that lets you move from agriculture to industry, corresponding to the agricultural finance of the first stage of that step (FAO, 2007).

Why Michoacan, in particular? Agroindustrial production in the state of Michoacan is mainly focused on grinding grains and preserving fruits. To strengthen the Michoacan agribusiness, the development of 15 product systems was promoted through infrastructure and equipment for post-production, mainly for avocado, tomato, strawberry and lemon. Likewise, 298 producers dedicated to the harvest of these foods were able to benefit, in addition to 1250 permanent jobs being created, resulting in 150,000 tons of processed products.

THEORICAL FRAMEWORK

The concept of agribusiness as a process of industrialization of agriculture has developed in a systematic way since 1955, when the researcher from the University of Harvard, Ray Goldberg formed in that year the Program of "Agribusiness," which shows that this concept has political and economic impact very representative within the economy (CAE, 2005).

Evolution of Agribusiness Concept

The researcher Goldberg, along with John H. David, proposed that the concept of "Agribusiness," using economic theory "input-output," from the researchers Wassil and Leontieff in this context, is defined as follows: "The sum total of the operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of agricultural production; production operations in the field, in the storage and distribution of commodities." Both economists gave priority to the nature of interdependence and aspects integrated among themselves as the agricultural supply, collection, storage, processing, distribution and consumption. In addition to its interaction with public policy, one must consider trade, among other international agreements (Dieckow, 2007).

Subsequently, Louis Malassis defines the agribusiness as "The agri subset which refers to the activities that contribute to the supply of a given society." Within the processes of food production, the agricultural sector plays a primary activity (production of raw materials) on which he builds up an industrial and commercial superstructure increasingly complex that produces agricultural products and distributes raw materials and the agri-food products when finished. In turn, this superstructure requires other complementary sectors of activity that provide intermediate goods and equipment needed (Molina, 2007).

It was the French school that spearheaded the concept of the agro-industrial model, agro-industrial chains and industrialization of agriculture and its analysis taken to the international level since 1970. Studies by Malassis, picking up from the American School of Goldberg and David, consider the subset food as part of a global economic system and study the differences between the agro industrial system in the developed countries and those that are developing (Machado, 2002).

On the other hand, Rastoin in the year 1994, proposed a differentiation of the agri-food system in accordance with new trends that have to do with health, fast food and culture. Speaking of health, due to the fact that the products which have a large number of substances such as hormones, cause confidence on the part of consumers (Bouquery et al., 2000), Rastoin displayed an array, where the technological innovation and the concept of health has developed increasingly through food, medication, and developed the concept of biotech companies.

Another agribusiness researcher is Francois Boucher who composed various papers about this topic. He proposed a new trend called "durable," which refers to health with the products "nutraceutical" or "functional," which isdominated by transnational corporations of the type of food, linked today to the biotech (Salas, 2006).

The small-scale farmers and rural entrepreneurs have an important stake in proposing semi-processed products which are elaborated on in pharmaceutical laboratories and companies specialized in handling the products called promising and linked to the preparation of the nutraceuticals. Acquisitions and joint ventures, the broad application of methods of research and development and systems described in franchise and strategic alliances, among others, cleared the way for the companies covering all stages, which were later renamed productive chains in the context of competitiveness (with the possibility of producing at lower costs and to selling in the markets at lower prices) (Hugon, 1988).

The concept of Localized Agribusiness System (SIAL in Spanish) describes the concentration of agro-industrial products where they have the advantages of proximity, but they differ from the Localized Production Systems (SPL) proposed by Pecqueur (1992), due to their rural and agricultural character. The SIAL is defined as systems consisting of production and service organizations (agricultural units, agribusiness companies, trading companies, restaurants, etc.) that are associated, through its features and operation, to a specific territory.

Competitiveness

The concept of competitiveness is becoming widespread among business schools whose emphasis is placed on management and enterprises. It is noted that the companies compete for markets and resources, associating their competitiveness in order to increase the share of market locally and globally.

Competitiveness has had three levels: the country, sector and company level, and is therefore a relative concept since not all countries, sectors or companies have the same levels of competition in markets. It is defined as the ability to generate a large consumer satisfaction at the lowest price, the lowest cost production and within a situation of rising production costs. The competitiveness of enterprises is a concept that refers to their capacity to produce goods and services efficiently. According to Porter (1991), for global competition the following principles are necessary: competitive advantage comes largely from improvement, innovation and change, and it is maintained thanks to incessant improvements. To keep the advantage it, needs to be improved and sources to maintain the advantage require a global approach to strategy.

The competitiveness of a sector of economic activity is based on the organizational pattern of society as a whole, the relevant competitive parameters and the interaction...

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