Działania grup producentów owoców i warzyw poprawiające konkurencyjność w łańcuchu dostaw żywności

One of the important problems of Polish agriculture is insuffi cient state horizontal integration of agricultural producers. Identifi cation of factors that affect the improvement of the competitiveness of producer groups in the food chain can help in the development of such entities. The aim of the publication is to present activities that should improve competitiveness in the food chain which are undertaken by groups of raw materials producers on the example of fruit and vegetable producers groups operating in Kujawsko-Pomorskie region. In studies the method of participant observation interview were used. The measurement was conducted in late April and May 2013 and included 19 leaders of producer groups. According to them the most important factor infl uencing the market position of the groups in the food chain, was the high quality of the manufactured goods in farms affi liated farmers. Few respondents identifi ed marketing as an opportunity to strengthen the competitive advantage of producer groups in the food supply chain. This is due to the fact that farmers are far removed in the supply chain from consumers with whom they have contact only in the form of market random retail.