COMMERCIALIZATION CHANNELS OF CUACHALALATE (Amphipterigium adstringens Schiede ex Schlecht.) BARK IN MEXICO

Abstract

The cuachalalate (Amphipterigium adstringens) is a tree from Tropical dry forest whose bark has been used since pre-Hispanic times for traditional medical uses. As one of the most demanded products in the Mexican herbalist market and of economic importance to communities living in this ecosystem, since 1989, INIFAP has conducted research to improve its handling, which currently allows its sustainable and legal use. All that remained was to study their distribution process, which is why we carried out the present study, aimed to identify supply areas, trading routes, the agents involved in the chain and profit margins between links. To achieve it, field observations were made, as well as a set of interviews. The results indicate that the main bark supply areas are: Morelos State, the Mixteca’s Puebla and north of the Balsas basin, in which an annual average of 57.5 tons are collected. Five marketing channels were identified; in all of them, the collector receives the smallest portion of the final price. The percentage paid to the collectors is between 6 to 33%. The margin of the retailer’s payment varies from 20 to 97%, which is higher when less intermediates are involved, and the product is processed. When cuachalalate is processed, packers receive 70% of final price while laboratories obtained 73%, although these have costs higher.