A market controlled by middlemen: quality standards and forms of organization of transactions in a coffee producing region in Minas Gerais

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the coffee market organization in the region of Matas de Minas since

deregulation in the 1990s. This market is characterized by control of the intermediate on ways
to coordinate transactions. We look at how the coffee differentiation, and thus the growers
differentiation, by means of production of specific quality standards has generated new forms of coordination. We propose an analysis of this case from the perspective of sociology of markets, focusing on the power relations established between economic agents and how they structure the marketing. Thus, we established a critical discussion with the alternative perspective for the analysis of agrifood markets represented by the Economy of Transaction Costs.