Transactions and governance in the apiculture of the state of Mato Grosso: the case of Apisnorte

Abstract

This work analyzes the beekeeping sector operation of the Beekeepers Association of Northern Mato Grosso (Apisnorte), as well as its trade relations, based on the New Institutional Economics (NIE) theory. This study identifies the different forms of contracts as governance structures of these transactions. The analysis suggests significant changes in organizational forms of the beekeeping sector, regarding the agents of Apisnorte. Apisnorte had low centrality in the coordination and organization of the productive chain. The transactions are done through the spot market governance (the transaction occurs at a single time). In this sense, the most elaborate mechanisms, such as the forward market or any other form of governance, are still little or never used by Apisnorte’s beekeepers.