HomeTropical fruit sectors undergoing change

Tropical fruit sectors undergoing change

Les filières fruits tropicaux en mutation

*  *  *

Published on Monday, July 29, 2024

Abstract

Français English

How are stakeholders in tropical fruit export sectors participating in and adapting to these changes in terms of market flows and consumption habits? How are relations between stakeholders being redefined? And what are the spatial implications of those changes? This call for papers welcomes studies based on what the French academia refers to as the “approche filière” but we are also interested in papers favoring a global value chain approach, this broad view of value chain taking into account the power relationships between upstream and downstream players, whatever the scale. This call for papers welcomes studies research into diverse geographical areas, based primarily on field surveys, and stemming from a range of disciplines studying relations to space.

Announcement

Français English

Argument

Fruit referred to as “tropical”, grown in hot, humid climates, have become mass-consumption products in the global North: bananas, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, etc. Others are still perceived as exotic and remain niche markets: papaya, guava, litchi, safou or passion fruit in particular. However, some consumers are questioning the legitimacy of globalized food supply chains and favoring local products (geographical proximity) or short food supply chains (social proximity) (Prigent-Simonin et Herault-Fournier, 2005; Chiffoleau, 2008; Praly et al., 2014; Frayssignes et al., 2021). According to this view, the globalized food system, of which tropical fruit export chains are a part, is opposed to territorial or alternative food systems (Deverre et Lamine, 2010; Libourel et Gonin, 2022). Nevertheless, tropical fruit export chains are undergoing a number of changes. They are increasingly taking sustainability issues into account (Biénabé et al., 2016). They are also facing another major change: more diversified and multipolar globalization processes (Carroué, 2019). Historically, these supply chains were constructed as South to North axes, linking production areas in the South (Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa) to markets in the North (Europe, North America, etc.), and regulated by trade agreements. But these sectors have to contend with the consolidation of consumer markets in some Southern countries, particularly in emerging countries where the middle class is (re)forming and changing its purchasing habits, with a desire to eat more fruit and vegetables (Daziano, 2014). At the same time, as in other areas of the economy (Magrin et al., 2015), entrepreneurs from the South are becoming increasingly involved in these supply chains, which had historically been organized by transnational firms from the North. How are stakeholders in tropical fruit export sectors participating in and adapting to these changes in terms of market flows and consumption habits? How are relations between stakeholders being redefined? And what are the spatial implications of those changes?

This call for papers welcomes studies based on what the French academia refers to as the “approche filière”, considering the successive operations of a product’s transformation including economic relations and stakeholder strategies (Morvan, 1985), but we are also interested in papers favoring a global value chain approach (Gereffi, 1999). We aim to take a broad view of the value chain, from production through to consumption, including transport and logistics, processing and retail (Rastoin et Ghersi, 2010). Contributors may investigate the power relations at play between upstream and downstream (Charlery de la Masselière, 2002), on every scale (from global to local), particularly through the issues of standards and trade agreements. Proposals for articles may focus on the stakeholders involved and the areas of production. Contributions on downstream aspects are also welcome. These may concern places (ports, packaging centers, wholesale markets) and transport operators (sea, land, air) as well as logistics (packaging, routing), mass retail or local sales outlets and consumers. We do not see the value chain approach as incompatible with a spatial focus - quite the contrary. The territory is not approached exclusively as an alternative to globalization that promotes local resources (territorial development, local food systems) (Denéchère et al., 2008; Campagne et Pecqueur, 2014), but as a constitutive dimension of this globalization (Retaillé, 2005; Redon et al., 2015). We aim to understand how the economic organization of value chains structures the region as a function of the balance of power between stakeholders (Fortunel et Gironde, 2014), in light of the shifts in globalization (Carroué, 2019) and of the challenges of environmental sustainability. This call for papers welcomes studies research into diverse geographical areas (Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe, North America, etc.), based primarily on field surveys, and stemming from a range of disciplines studying relations to space (geography, economics, agronomy, history, political science, etc.). Contributions may be submitted under the following headings (this list is not limitative):

Focus 1. Spatial diversification: Flows, production areas and markets

Where tropical fruit is concerned, the time does not seem to be ripe for de-globalization, but for increased world trade and diversification, in the context of new geopolitical and geo-economic relationships that are redefining North-South and South-South relations. Several key processes need to be better documented. Firstly, the diversification of production areas: within exporting countries to supply the agro-industry, according to various factors (rising global demand, urban pressure, climate change, disease-related health issues); in certain Southern countries, which are strengthening their agri-export model, including in the tropical fruit sector; in the northern hemisphere through the acclimatization of certain tropical crops (Spain and Italy, for example). Secondly, the diversification of consumer markets: how is demand for tropical fruit growing in emerging countries (urban sprawl, middle class, increased fruit consumption)? In what ways: through the gradual establishment of a tertiary food system and large-scale retailers, or through more traditional or informal channels linked to local traders? Lastly, how does this diversification of production areas and consumer markets rely on transport operators in sectors constrained by just-in-time logistics, the fragility and perishability of fruit (Foulquier, 2015), and what readjustments in the supply chain does it require, from the plot to the supermarket shelf or local market?

Focus 2. Less asymmetrical power relations for players from the South?

Historically, the tropical fruit supply chains have been based on asymmetrical power relations between North and South, and upstream and downstream. However, it appears that certain stakeholders from the South are now tending to play a more important role in these sectors at various levels, a role that needs to be better documented: the emergence in the South of trainers and/or skilled labor to meet the social responsibility standards of large companies; small and medium-sized producers, under contract or who sell their produce to export-import companies, who are able to group together and choose their buyers, but who are still faced with the risks associated with production (health, geopolitical, climatic); large companies or agricultural entrepreneurs in the South who manage the export of exotic fruit. These players may resort to multi-location strategies to reduce risks, like transnational firms.

Focus 3. Value chains and environmental sustainability

This section will look at the environmental impact of the tropical fruit industry on soil and water (use of farm inputs, water stress, deforestation, etc.), biodiversity (few varieties, monoculture) and the carbon footprint (transport by boat, plane, lorry, etc.). What changes and adaptations are being made in practices by industry players in response to the challenges of environmental sustainability, whether in terms of production (agro-ecology, precision farming, organic farming, etc.) or marketing (environmental and social labels, certification)? In what way are these adaptations conditioned by distributor listings, selling prices and consumption patterns? What are the barriers (Geels, 2005) to the greening of these export sectors (logistical, cognitive, 'path dependency', etc.)? What socio-environmental standards are being produced by governments and regional and international institutions? How do they circulate? And what impact do they have on industry players in terms of market access and competition?

Submission guidelines

All submissions must be sent to Emmanuel Chauvin (emmanuel.chauvin@univ-tlse2.fr), the dossier's co-coordinator, with a copy to Karine Delaunay (EchoGeo@univ-paris1.fr), EchoGéo's editorial secretary, who will forward them to the evaluators.

before 10 February 2025

  • The dossier will be published in issue 73 of EchoGéo (July-September 2025).
  • In addition to the articles in the Sur le Champ dossier, submissions that address the general theme of this call for papers may be included in the other sections of EchoGéo (Sur le Métier, Sur l'Image, sur l'Ecrit).
  • These proposals must comply with the expectations of these sections, as indicated in the editorial line (https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/22070).
  • After validation by the coordinators, the proposals will undergo double-blind evaluation by a panel of specialists from outside the journal, chosen by the coordinators and the committee.

Coordination committee

  • Emmanuel Chauvin is a geographer and lecturer at Toulouse Jean Jaurès University - UMR LISST-Dynamiques rurales
  • Martine Guibert is a geographer and lecturer at Toulouse Jean Jaurès University - UMR LISST-Dynamiques rurales
  • Mathilde Joncheray is a geographer and lecturer at the Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès - UMR LISST-CIEU
  • Anaïs Marshall is a geographer and lecturer at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès - UMR LISST-Dynamiques rurales
  • Héloïse Valette is an economist and lecturer at the Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès - UMR LISST-Dynamiques rurales.

References cited

Biénabe E., Rival A., Loeillet D., 2016. Développement durable et filières tropicales. Paris, Quae, 356 p.

Campagne P., Pecqueur B., 2014. Le développement territorial. Une réponse émergente à la mondialisation. Paris, Éditions Charles Léopold Mayer, 268 p.

Carroué L., 2019. Géographie de la mondialisation. Crises et basculements du monde. Paris, Armand Colin, 320 p.

Charlery de la Masselière B., 2002. Filières agricoles des produits tropicaux. Les Cahiers d’Outre-Mer, vol. 220, n° 4, p. 365-370.

Chiffoleau Y., 2008. Les circuits courts alimentaires diversité et enjeux pour le développement durable. In Maréchal G. (dir.), Les circuits courts alimentaires, Bien manger dans les territoires. Dijon, Educagri, p. 21-30.

Daziano L., 2014. Des sociétés en mutation. In Daziano L. (dir.), Les pays émergents. Approche géoéconomique. Paris, Armand Colin, p. 83-98.

Denéchère F., Durand G., Maréchal G., 2018. Systèmes alimentaires territorialisés : les circuits courts comme vecteurs de développement territorial. In Maréchal G. (dir.), Les circuits courts alimentaires, Bien manger dans les territoires. Dijon, Educagri, p. 161-174.

Deverre C., Lamine C., 2010. Les systèmes agroalimentaires alternatifs. Une revue de travaux anglophones en sciences sociales. Économie rurale, n°317, p. 57-73.

Fortunel F., Gironde C. (dir.), 2014. L'Or Blanc. Petits et grands planteurs face au « boom » de l’hévéaculture (Viêt Nam-Cambodge). Bangkok, Institut de recherche sur l’Asie du Sud-Est contemporaine, 209 p.

Foulquier E., 2015. Transport maritime sous régime de froid. Mondialisation des circulations des marchandises périssables. Le Déméter, n° 22, p. 261-279.

Frayssignes F., Pouzenc M., Olivier-Salvagnac V., 2021. La relocalisation de l’agriculture : entre dimension spatiale et représentations des acteurs. Le cas des circuits courts collectifs. Développement durable et territoires [En ligne], vol. 12, n° 1. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/developpementdurable/18584

Geels F. W., 2005. Technological Transitions and System Innovations: A Co-evolutionary and Socio-Technical Analysis. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 328 p.

Gereffi G., 1999. International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain. Journal of international economics, vol. 48, n°1, p. 37-70.

Libourel É., Gonin A. (dir.), 2022. Agriculture et changements globaux. Paris, Ed. Atlande, 504 p.

Magrin G., Mesclier E., Piveteau A., 2015. Quand les entreprises du Sud investissent au Sud : un basculement aux contours encore indistincts. Autrepart, vol. 76, n° 4, p. 3-28.

Morvan Y., 1985. En guise de prologue… l’économie industrielle et la filière. In Morvan Y., L’analyse de la filière, Paris, Economica, p. 5-9.

Praly C., Chazoule C., Delfosse C., Mundler P., 2014. Les circuits de proximité, cadre d'analyse de la relocalisation des circuits alimentaires. Géographie, économie, société, n°16, p. 455-478. 

Prigent-Simonin A.-H., Hérault-Fournier C., 2005. The Role of Trust in the Perception of the Quality of Local Food Products: with Particular Reference to Direct Relationships Between Producer and Consumer. Antropology of food [En ligne], n° 4. URL : http://aof.revues.org/index204.htm

Rastoin J.-L., Ghersi G., 2010. Le système alimentaire mondial. Concepts et méthodes, analyses et dynamiques. Versailles, Éditions Quæ, 584 p.

Redon M., Magrin G., Chauvin E., Perrier Bruslé L., Lavie E. (dir.), 2015. Ressources mondialisées. Essais de géographie politique. Paris, Éditions de la Sorbonne, 336 p.

Retaillé D., 2005. L’espace mobile. In Antheaume B., Giraut F. (dir)., Le territoire est mort, vive les territoires ! Une (re)fabrication au nom du développement. Marseille, IRD Éditions, 384 p.


Date(s)

  • Monday, February 10, 2025

Keywords

  • filière, fruits tropicaux, mutation, marché, flux, mondialisation, durabilité

Contact(s)

  • Emmanuel Chauvin
    courriel : emmanuel [dot] chauvin [at] univ-tlse2 [dot] fr

Reference Urls

Information source

  • Karine Delaunay
    courriel : EchoGeo [at] univ-paris1 [dot] fr

License

CC-BY-4.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 .

To cite this announcement

Emmanuel Chauvin, « Tropical fruit sectors undergoing change », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, July 29, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/123s4

Archive this announcement

  • Google Agenda
  • iCal
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search