Caracterización de la cadena agroproductiva de la papa (Solanum tuberosum) en la provincia del Carchi y su fluctuación de los precios en los mercados mayoristas de Carchi, Imbabura y Pichincha

The research descriptively covers the agricultural supply chain and its different units of the potato (Solanum tuberosum) in the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura and Pichincha, as well as a detailed study of the fluctuations in the prices in this chain of economic importance in this agriculturally productive area of Ecuador. Documentary, field and descriptive research was conducted, using techniques such as structured surveys of producers, forums with producers, and associations to tackle the problem. As a result, a characterization of the potato's agricultural supply chain was obtained, which presents an isolated value-added link; only 15% of the total production is processed, the intermediaries increase the value of the item by 40-50%, decreasing the producer's profit and representing a factor in increased product prices. Smuggling in the province of Carchi is not possible to quantify because it is complex to estimate, but one can qualitatively perceive its presence, in this case the scarcity of the product is not perceptible. The margin of increase in the price of potatoes (of the súperchola and única varieties) was determined to be 166% and 120%, respectively in the markets of Carchi, Imbabura and Pichincha from 2013 to 2015.