This paper is a prospective study about the bromeliads production and trade in Paraná State, Brazil, which aimed to know the producers' profile in Paraná State with the respective capacity of meeting market demands, identify and characterize the different levels of the bromeliads production chain, as well as detect the main bottlenecks to the development of this sector. A total of 19 producers were interviewed; 160 retailers and 18 wholesalers. The amount of bromeliads from the regional production and suitable to be the traded was 5340 plants per year, which was lower than the State demand. The conditions demanded by retailers (r) and wholesalers (w) to purchase bromeliads from regional producers were: equal to or lower price than it is sold in São Paulo (required by: r = 134; w = 18), production quality demanded as found in the market (r = 86; w = 16), ability to make regular deliveries (r = 81; w = 11) and replacement capacity for requests of extra orders (r = 55; w = 7). It was not found in Paraná a producer that could meet all requirements simultaneously. The main barriers that prevented the inclusion of production in the regional market were due to the inapplicability of the rural production management models adopted by the producers and the technological inconsistencies observed in most of the culture hatcheries that resulted in low quality production.
management; trading; seedlings ornamental plants; Bromeliaceae
