In citrus production, the producer coordinates his sales transactions with agents of distribution channels employing different structures of governance. In sales to packing houses, middlemen, retailers and the institutional market, the producer utilizes transactions carried out in the spot market. In contrast, where the deals are with the juice-processing industry, contractual arrangements are predominant. There are also producers who act as distribution channels, integrating sales of the in natura fruit to the end consumer (hierarchy). This work aims to analyze the transactions performed by citrus producers, according to the attributes proposed by Williamson (1985 and 1991) in the field of Transaction Cost Economics (frequency, uncertainty and specificity of assets) in order to verify if the forms of coordination employed link up with the producer's deals aligned to those attributes. We conclude that such an alignment exists and there is no inability on the part of citrus producers or members of the orange distribution channels to measure the dimensions of their transactions as well as to identify the most efficient solution in terms of governance, i.e. that which minimizes transaction costs.
Citrus agroindustrial system; Structures of governance; Transaction costs
