MARKETING CHANNELS AND MARGINS OF THE BARK OF CUACHALALATE (Amphipterygium adstringens Schiede ex Schlecht.) IN THE CITY OF PUEBLA AND METROPOLITAN AREA

Abstract

Cuachalalate (Amphipterygium adstringens Schiede ex Schlecht.) is a Mexican wild medicinal plant whose bark is used for the relief of around 30 common diseases of the local, regional, national and global population. Although the demand for this non-timber forest resource has been increasing in recent years, the generation of conditions for its use is limited to the state of Morelos, with the collection without replacement prevailing in the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca. This is why in this research the object of study was the existing trade of cuachalalate bark in the city of Puebla and its metropolitan area, given its proximity to one of the main collection sites of the country (the Mixteca Poblana), in order to analyze the marketing channels and agents to generate useful elements for the subsequent design of development strategies based on this resource. Surveys were applied in its two modalities (questionnaire and semi-structured interview), and observations that resulted in the characterization of marketing agents and in the identification of four marketing channels, the main one being the collector-middle manmarketer-consumer channel within the study area.