The relationship between poultry producers and their integrators: a case of West Region of Paraná, Brazil

Brazilian poultry sector stands out as the second largest poultry producer in the world and the world's largest exporter of chicken meat, where Paraná State has one of the most important contributions to the sector. Thus, the main objective of this paper consist to discuss the relationship between poultry producers and their integrators in West region of Paraná, capturing poultry producer’s perception and theirs decisions for choosing and staying in an integration contract. A sample of 98 producers were interviewed and non-parametric statistical tests were used, including cross-reference tables, comparison proportions tests and bivariate correlations. Results indicate that producer profiles are mainly constituted by small or medium enterprises with a high dependence degree on agro-industry. An intense competition exists and mostly, producers choose an integrator based on brand trustworthiness and not according to prices offered, explained by the high specificity of production relationship.