Estrutura De Mercado De Produtos Lácteos No Município De Lavras, Mg

This study was carried out with the objective of characterizing the market structure and the commercialization of dairy products in the district of Lavras, MG, Brazil. For such study, agents were identified, their market conduct, and the prices paid and received were analyzed, as well as the volume of sales in the different market segments. It was verified that the products demanding greater technological resources, such as milk “longa vida” ( “long-life” or UHT milk ) and milk sweets are the ones that feature the largest commercialization margins. In the retail segment, supermarkets feature, in average, the lowest margins in relation to their competitors, especially “longa vida” milk. In the consumer market of milk, the sterilized product is the most demanded kind with 36% of the total consumption, informal milk (without inspection) with 31% and milk “longa vida” with 28%. The consumers prefer the informal type because they believe it features better quality, price, distribution and payment services. By the Gini Index methodology, it was verified that there is a concentration in the distribution of milk in the wholesale and retail markets, especially in retail stores.