Transaction costs in the coffee export operations in the south region of Minas Gerais

Abstract

This research was intended to evaluate the occurrence of transaction costs and their impact on the logistic planning of coffee exports. The unit of analysis is a Brazilian export company. The performance of Brazilian agribusiness, as expressed by indicators of its international competitiveness, shows the level of sophistication achieved by the export production chain and reinforces the importance of using modern management techniques in agribusinesses, especially those related to logistics. One possible explanation for the differences between the expected/desired services and those actually offered by the market may be found in Transaction Cost Theory. Despite the fact that the above mentioned theoretical framework has been widely used to analyse business chain governance, it has seldom been used for specifically aspects of logistics. The study suggests that transaction costs, to a large extent, are caused by the exporter himself when he decides to locate production far from the shipping port. This means that the financial gains from this strategy are greater than the transaction costs because they determine future choices. On the other hand, the prevalent institutional form in the international market (the European Contract) simply confirms the potential transaction costs caused by this strategy.