The aim of this article is to identify what are the characteristics of the firm that might influence the difficulty of meeting technical requirements. It was conducted a survey with 117 firms and the data were analyzed using multivariate classification trees. It was verified that the most influential characteristic on the difficulty to meet technical requirements is the type of export product and the firms that export "fresh and processed meat and fish" are those that realize the greatest difficulty. The size of the firm, the adoption of international standards and exporting experience also influence the difficulty of adjustment. Micro and small firms that adopt international standards have more difficulties to adjust their products and process to technical requirements than larger firms. The origin of the capital is not relevant to explain the difficulty of adjustment.
technical requirements; food products exports; firms; multivariate classification trees
