Despite growing recognition of the importance of collaborative relationships in facilitating exchange in the fresh produce industry, few studies have empirically sought to explore the nature of trading relationships between market intermediaries. This paper contributes to this literature by exploring the prevailing trading practices and activities and the key dimensions of long-term buyer-seller relationships, namely trust, power-dependence and satisfaction. The authors use data from interviews conducted with 53 collectors, 12 traders and 10 wholesalers in Probolinggo, Malang and Jakarta. From this, they determine that a trusting relationship enables market intermediaries to profit from the Manalagi mango supply chain in a way that would not be possible individually. They found that intermediaries gain a certain level of risk sharing and improved access to markets and information, and display some trust and satisfaction in their relationships. However, the authors emphasise the importance of improvements in operational effectiveness to reduce cost and increase value, including better post-harvest handling practices and improvements in infrastructure and logistics to reduce product losses.

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