The Role of Certification in the Brazilian Fruit Chain

Concerns about food safety and standards in the developed countries, particularly in Europe and the United States have made certification inevitable for worldwide fruit producers who target such export markets. The fact that certification is demanded by final consumers is increasingly making buyers, retailers and wholesalers buy certified products from the producers. For the fruit industry in Brazil, certification has important consequences as it ensures access to export markets. Using primary data obtained from interviews with 303 small, medium and large mango and grape producers in the regions of Juazeiro/BA and Petrolina/PE in Brazil, this paper aims at assessing the determinants of demand for certification among mango and grape producers. Empirical analysis using a logit model shows that grapes farmers have higher likelihood for certification than mango growers. The farmer’s education level and years of experience producing fruits are the major positive determinants for certification. The factors which decrease the chances to adopt certification are small size of the farm, nonagricultural income, awareness and trust type of arrangement.