Codification and Prioritization of Development Structure of South Kerman Citrus Fruit Chain and Its Sustainability Requirements

Fruit and vegetable marketing system in Iran has been very inefficient and has caused dissatisfaction on both sides of the market, i.e. consumers and producers. Citrus fruits, as the first horticultural product with the production of 5.6 million tons, have accounted for 23 percent of the country's total horticultural production. Iran's share of the global citrus production is 3.7 percent and ranks the seventh in the world, but its share in the global export of citrus fruits is less than 0.25 percent and ranks the 31st in the world. The south region of Kerman has the third place in the country with the cultivated area of about 33 thousand hectares and the production of 587 thousand tons of citrus fruits. If we separate the citrus fruits of this region into their different types, the region ranks the second in orange production and cultivated area after Mazandaran, and the third in lime production and cultivated area in the country after Fars and Hormozgan provinces. Considering the importance of creating a citrus value chain in improving the marketing system and the sustainability of production and export, this research tried to find the best structure of the citrus value chain among the commercial models in the world according to the condition of the region and the economic, socio-cultural, and structural components.  In this research, the method of completing the questionnaire was used to prepare the required information by holding briefing sessions and training workshops for elites and experts related to citrus production and trade in the region. In order to analyze the data, calculate the weight of criteria and sub-criteria and achieve the best citrus value chain model, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used. In the first place, four main criteria and 21 related sub-criteria were identified by examining the types of business models in the value chain. After collecting the data through the AHP method, these criteria were prioritized in terms of their importance.  The results from analyzing the matrix of pairwise comparisons of four economic, environmental, structural and socio-cultural criteria as the main criteria in choosing the best citrus value chain model in the south region of Kerman province from the elites' point of view revealed that the economic criterion was the most important criterion with a weight of 0.361 in choosing the best model; in addition, the citrus value chain played the main role and the environmental, structural and socio-cultural criteria were ranked the second, third and fourth in importance, respectively. In another part of this research, the importance of 21 sub-criteria were investigated and prioritized based on their relative weights in choosing the regional citrus value chain model. Among the seven components of the economic criterion, "specialization and mechanization of the production system" and "productivity", among the five components of the socio-cultural criterion, the components of "creating trust in the people" and "investment security", among the three components of the environmental criterion, the components of "preservation of water and soil resources" and "plant health standards" and finally, among the six components of the structural criteria, the components of "supplying energy and water" and "developing product funds" played the main roles as the most important components in the selection of the citrus value chain model in the south region of Kerman province. If all of the studied four criteria and 21 sub-criteria were considered together, among the four business models in the value chain, the "market maker" model would be the best option with the highest relative weight (0.427) and the "layer player" model would be the last one and the least important option with a relative weight of 0.09; in addition, "integrator" and "orchestrator" models were ranked as the second and third with relative weights of 0.297 and 0.186, respectively. The evaluation results from the pairwise comparisons of the mentioned criteria were estimated with an inconsistency rate of 0.04, which proves the compatibility and reliability of the elites' judgments. Therefore, the "market maker" model can be emphasized by planners and policymakers as the best and first priority of the citrus value chain model in the south Kerman province.