Rosa's Story - Coady International Institute - St. Francis Xavier ...

Jambi Kiwapac
Causai
appear by harvest time. For its part, Jambi Kiwa sometimes has to contend with
brokers offering its producers higher prices for plants. When the immediate need
for income has been great, some producers have overlooked the potential benefits
of being long-term owners of a successful company.
Jambi Kiwa has struggled to achieve a viable economy of scale for its operations
and get its costs in line with its competitors. 5 Members have been asked to make
certain sacrifices. For instance, a minimum number of plants is now required on
pick-up day to make transport worthwhile. Yet sometimes members have to wait to
be paid because funds from Jambi Kiwa’s buyers have been delayed. While these
factors have cost Jambi Kiwa some members, most have stayed. As one member
from Trigaloma put it “There has been strong motivation to persist”. Her group felt
proud and hopeful by the knowledge that plants that they have grown are now
being sold internationally (personal communication, October 15, 2004).
Inauguration ceremony for the new factory in
Riobamba, January 2005
38
Jambi Kiwa is in the process of
deciding on a strategic direction for
production for the next few years.
While it could continue to increase
sales of dried or powdered ingredients
to international manufacturers
and continue joint labelling in
Ecuador, this two-pronged strategy
may not be profitable for many
years. Most Jambi Kiwa export
items have little value added. As a
result, profit margins are quite
small. Certain value-added products
are sold domestically through
a joint labelling agreement but, to
date, these products have failed to
generate profits for Jambi Kiwa.
For instance, while the partnership
with CETCA has allowed Jambi
Kiwa to get its teas nicely pack-
aged and placed on the shelves of major Andean supermarkets, CETCA’s calculation
of costs has not left any profit to be shared. CETCA also developed designs
5 Le Clef des Champs reports that shipping costs from Ecuador (CAD 400/m3) are four times higher than China
and five times higher than Europe. In China a ship is leaving every day for “Canada; in Ecuador a ship might
leave every three weeks. In addition, Jambi Kiwa has to pay all it producers and factory workers in USD putting
it at a cost disadvantage with its Andean neighbours: Columbia, Bolivia and Peru”.