Examining the performance of the supply chain for potatoes in the Red River Delta using a pluralistic approach

Using an analysis of marketing margins and the key dimensions of long-term buyer-seller relationships, it is possible to demonstrate that the supply chain for potatoes cultivated in the Red River Delta (Vietnam) is surprisingly efficient. While the prices paid to farmers are ultimately determined by supply and demand, the price farmers receive from traders and collector agents is influenced by tuber quality and the costs of transportation. Farmers are seldom dependent on their preferred trading partner and indicate that numerous alternative traders are available to purchase the potatoes they have harvested. While the traders similarly enjoy a strong positive relationship both with farmers and collector agents and their down-stream customers, wholesalers report that they are much less satisfied in their exchange relationship with both the traders and the retailers. Wholesalers are more dependent on both their up-stream and down-stream trading partners and are more dissatisfied and less trusting of their exchange partners.