Traceability in the Global Value Chain of Blueberry between Mexico and China

Objective: To analyze the traceability system required by the Phytosanitary Protocol signed between Mexico and China for the export of fresh blueberries. Design/methodology/approach: The case study approach is used to analyze the Global Blueberry Value Chain between Mexico and China (GBVCMCh). Information is collected through semi-structured interviews and bibliographic analysis. Results: The blueberry traceability system is influenced by the differentiation of safety and phytosanitary attributes, which complies with the regulation established by the Chinese government to allow the entry of fresh blueberries to its market. The traceability system also provides and retrieves information through the use of codes on labels. Limitations on study/implications: The traceability system of the Global Value Chain of a single product destined for a specific market was analyzed, so it cannot be generalized. Findings/conclusions: The companies that are part of the GBVCMCh use the traceability system together with other tools that allow quality, safety, phytosanitary and logistics management, to provide information on the product, take decisions about payments and to comply with a regulation.Objective: To analyze the traceability system required by the Phytosanitary Protocol signed between Mexico and China for the export of fresh blueberries. Design/Methodology/Approach: The case study approach is used to analyze the Global Value Chain of Blueberry between Mexico and China (GVCBMC). The information is obtained through semi-structured interviews and bibliographical analysis. Results: The traceability system of blueberry is influenced by the differentiation of attributes of innocuousness and plant health that comply with the regulations established by the Chinese government to allow the influx of fresh blueberry to their market. The traceability system provides and recovers information through the use of codes in labels. Study Limitations/Implications: The traceability system of the Global Value Chain of a single product destined to a specific market was analyzed, so it cannot be generalized. Findings/Conclusions: The companies that are part of the Global Value Chain of Blueberry between Mexico and Chinause the traceability system along with other tools that allow the management of quality, innocuousness, plant health and logistics, to provide information about the product, to make decisions about payments and to comply with regulations

Inter-firm coordination in the Mexican avocado (Persea americana) industry: the packer-buyer relationship

Vertical coordination is an effective response to uncertainties in marketing environments. This article presents evidence relating the influence of transaction characteristics on interfirm coordination to respond what conditions determine the level of inter-firm coordination between packers and buyers. Based on transaction cost analysis, we measured inter-firm coordination using two variables, information exchange and duration of the arrangement with the buyer. Data were gathered from 44 non-forwardly integrated packers participating in the Mexican avocado (Persea americana) industry. We showed that higher levels of interfirm coordination not only require coordinated response, but also cooperative response. Although information exchange is contingent on the magnitude of asset specificity and presence of environmental uncertainty, duration of the arrangement between packer and buyers has been a main factor to explain reduction of opportunism associated to the fulfillment of the arrangement, as well as the presence of higher levels of information exchange when asset specificity is significant. As a result, packers with higher levels of inter-firm coordination have increased sales and reduced stock outs. Key words: environmental uncertainty, inter-firm coordination, information exchange, duration

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

A case study of the Mexican avocado industry based on transaction costs and supply chain management practices

The present study is based on transaction cost economics and supply chain management to analyze how the adoption of supply chain management practices in the Mexican avocado industry reduces the transaction costs between producers and packers. Two sources of information are used: interviews from different stakeholders and reviews of documents. Conclusions show that the adoption of three practices, product standardization, supplier partnership, and information exchange, has been a solution when challenges such as enhancing quality, obtaining reliable supply, and coordinating supply and demand conditions, are faced in a supply chain

Relationship characteristics and performance in fresh produce supply chains; the case of the Mexican avocado industry

Abstract Inter-organisational relations research has shown that relationship characteristics can influence performance in seller-buyer transactions. Using a transaction cost economics approach, this research shows that relational elements such as expectation of continuity reduce the transaction risks related to behavioural uncertainty or asset specificity. However, transaction costs are not only caused by transaction risks but also by the need to coordinate the individual activities of the buyer and the seller. Inter-organisational coordination is important in transactions with perishable products and products with credence attributes, such as in fresh produce supply chains. To study the impact of different relationship characteristics on the efficiency of transactions in a fresh produce supply chain, we collected and analyzed data from 122 avocado producers in Mexico. We found that information exchange and producer expectation of continuity of the relationship positively affect performance in the seller-buyer transaction. While expectation of continuity leads to lower transaction costs associated with behavioural uncertainty, information exchange facilitates the efficient alignment of interdependent activities. Keywords: transaction costs, relationship characteristics, performance, information, avoca

Contractual arrangements and food quality certifications in the Mexican avocado industry

The adoption of private quality certifications in agrifood supply chains often requires specific investments by producers which can be safeguarded by choosing specific contractual arrangements. Based on a survey data from avocado producers in Mexico, this paper aims to analyze the impact of transaction costs and relationship characteristics of the joint choice of contractual arrangements and quality certifications. Using a bivariate probit model, it shows that a producer�s decision to adopt private quality certifications is directly linked to high levels of asset specificity and price. In order to ensure the high level of specificity under the presence of low levels of price uncertainty, producers have relied on relational governance supported by the expectation of continuity in their bilateral relationships with buyers

Price Transmission along the Supply Chain of Strawberries in Mexico

By combining data from multiple sources, we model supply and demand of strawberry in Mexico for the 1970-2013 period. The main purpose of the study is to measure transmission of prices in this sector. Producer prices, wholesaler prices, exporter prices, and consumer prices are components of the model. Our three-stage least squares regression results show, consistent with the literature, that the pass-through of price changes is imperfect; that is, a price change at the producer level is not fully transmitted to domestic consumers and exporters. (Dickey-Fuller Augmented and Ljung-Box tests were performed to ensure efficiency of estimators.) Furthermore, a change in producer prices has a higher impact on the domestic market than in the exports market, in percentage basis. However, higher price mark-ups in the export market compared to domestic market’s make exporting more attractive to Mexican strawberry producers. Results of this study may have important implications as both supply and exports of strawberry from Mexico have experienced high growth in the last decade, with more than 90% of strawberry being exported to the U.S. According the Mexican Department of Agriculture, volume harvested of strawberry grew 2.14 times from 2003 to 2014 while exports did 2.88 times

Evaluación financiera con metodología de opciones reales de inversión para producción y venta de café orgánico

In Mexico, coffee farming is ahighly relevant activity due to the generation of foreign exchange, jobs and the ecological importance of the crop; however, due to the uncertainty that the price provides, in the last 10 years the production of cherry coffeedecreased at an average annual rate of 6%. An alternative to face this crisis is to differentiate the product and produce organic coffee. The present investigation was carried out in 2018 in the municipality of Ixhuatlan, Veracruz. The profitability of the production and sale of organic coffee was calculated through the evaluation of traditional financial investment projects forproducers and cooperative (NPV= 1504372 and 283566 respectively), complemented with the real options methodology; through binomial trees, which contemplatesthe volatility of prices and the change in decisions that the manager can make throughout the project. The analysis of the results showed that there are greater benefits when considering the expansion-abandonment option through the calculation of the total NPV of the production and sale of organic coffee with the real options methodology (1959111 and 411455, respectively).En México la cafeticultura es una actividad de gran relevancia debido a la generación de divisas, empleos y a la importancia ecológica del cultivo; sin embargo, debido a la incertidumbre que proporciona el precio, en los últimos 10 años la producción de café cereza decreció a una tasa promedio anual de 6%. Una alternativa para hacer frente a esta crisis es diferenciar el producto y producir café orgánico. La presente investigación se realizó en el 2018 en el municipio de Ixhuatlán, Veracruz. Se calculó la rentabilidad de la producción y venta de café orgánico mediante la evaluación de proyectos de inversión financiera tradicional para los productores y cooperativa (VAN= 1 504 372 y 283 566 respectivamente), se complementó con la metodología de opciones reales; a través, de árboles binomiales, la cual contempla la volatilidad de los precios y el cambio de decisiones que puede tomar el encargado a lo largo del proyecto. El análisis de los resultados mostró que existen mayores beneficios cuando se considera la opción de expansión-abandono a través del cálculo del VAN total de la producción y venta de café orgánico con la metodología de opciones reales (1 959 111 y 411 455, respectivamente)