PREPARATION AND MARKETING OF GRANULATED PANELA IN FAMILY BUSINESSES FROM CALUMA (ECUADOR)

Abstract

For decades, the canton Caluma has maintained its traditions in the cultivation and obtaining of the production derived from the cane of sugar, as well as in the commercialization of the same one. So, the objective of this work was to identify opportunities for improvement of the production and marketing processes of granulated panela in family businesses in canton Caluma. For which, a field investigation was applied, surveys (face-to-face surveys) with open and closed questions were applied to a population of 60 farmers. Methods were used: Inductive, Deductive, Synthetic Descriptive and Statistical. The results of the field diagnosis showed that 35% of farmers are illiterate, 40% middle school and 35% higher education, more than 50% of farmers account for between 1 and 4 hectares of land, the 70% of the producers are associated, 28% generated by-products (block panela, 47% burning water and 25% granulated panela). Most of the production is sold in local markets with 48% in the cities of Caluma, Guaranda or Chimbo (Ecuador), with the improvements in the commercialization chains, it is estimated that the most interested would be: CIBVS Children's Centers, Fundación Maquita, CAMARI, Bolivar brand, Supermarkets and local stores, According to the analysis, the elasticity of demand is 1.16, with a profit margin of 73% in high season and   43% in low season. The sales strategy that is sought to be implemented is to have a number of fixed customers that constantly place orders, whether weekly or monthly, before distributing through an operating system.