Issues in supply chain planning of Fruits and Vegetables in Agri-food supply chain: A review of certain aspects

Fresh Fruits and Vegetable (FFV) are one of the most important component of a retail chain (supermarket) and act as a strategic product in attracting the customers. The demand for fresh fruits and vegetables is growing year-by-year, with greater potential for the future. Agri-food produces from the farmer's field reach the end consumer through a long chain of intermediaries such as farmers/growers, cooperatives, wholesalers, retailers, commission agents, etc. The dynamically changing fruits and vegetable market environment differentiate it from other agricultural products and complicates the efforts of local or regional suppliers to effectively match supply with demand. Thus, there is a need for the retail chains (supermarkets) to structure their agri-food procurement processes to respond to upstream-side demand and to absorb downstream-side risks with the objective to augment, retain, satisfy consumers and gain new revenue opportunities without the creation of excess inventory or capacity. The primary aim of this paper is to provide a brief literature review with the focus on identifying the issues with the procurement of fruits and vegetables in agri-food supply chains and recommending measures to solve these issues.