Dairy Processing Industry of Riobamba – Ecuador: Dynamics in the Local Economy

Abstract

The dairy processing industry of Ecuador has presented a moderate growth in the last two decades, this in response to the economic dynamism of the sector, and after much of the agricultural production units to direct efforts and resources to the consolidation of the national livestock system, mainly in those territories located in the central highlands. However, in terms of modernization and technological innovation, the dairy chain has been recession, seen from the presence of a large number of industries or business type craft, causing social asymmetries between producers. The understanding these dynamics led the authors to the identification of measurable parameters such as productivity and competitiveness, that incidentally, the competitive theory is taken as a reference for the study of agricultural structures in rural areas of Ecuador. Finally, the review of literature (in some cases non-existent) gave way to the application of an empirical study, based on surveys of dairies of Riobamba, achieving in this way, to characterize the systems of production and marketing, as well as links and agreements that keep the industries with other actors of the chain and the local economy.