Analysis of the Influencing Factors and Key Driving Force concerning the Efficie

Yingtang LI，Zhong QIAO

1.College of Economics and Management，China Agricultural University，Beijing100083，China；2.College of Navigation，Jimei University，Xiamen 361021，China

1 Introduction

The agricultural products of fruits and vegetables have high nutritional value but low fat content.Therefore，there is a growing demand for the agricultural products of fruits and vegetables，and they occupy an increasingly important position in the residents'consumption structure.The production of fruits and vegetables plays an important role in China'sagricultural production，and is a major way to increase farmers'income.After years of development，China has become the world's largest producer of fruits and vegetables.

In 2011，China's vegetable output was 679 million tons，accounting for 60%of the world production，and the vegetable became China's staple agricultural product for the first time［1］.China's per capita vegetable has reached 370 kg per person per year，ranking first in theworld［2］.Due to the increased levels of consumer income and health awareness，people have increasingly high requirements on the quality of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables while the production and demand of fruits and vegetables soar.In addition to non-perishability，people also require the healthiness and green of fruits and vegetables.

Green fruits and vegetables attract more and more consumers.Therefore，the development of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables has captured more and more attention.In recent years，as a new profit growth point for accelerating the construction of new countryside and rural economic development，the green logistics of agricultural products in China has received much concern from government，enterprises and research institutes.Vigorously developing safe and efficient green supply chain of fresh agricultural products becomes an important factor in achieving sustainable development of the national economy.

2 The connotation of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables

2.1 The concept of green supply chainIn 1996，the U.S.National Science Foundation and Manufacturing Research Institute of Michigan State University considered the development ofmanufacturing supply chain from the perspective of optimal use of resources，and proposed the concept of green supply chain for the first time and took it as the important content of supply chain research［3］.

The green supply chain integrates the ideas of supply chain management，sustainable development，recycling economy and ecological economy，and the purpose is to make the negative impact of the supply chain on the environment smallest and the efficiency of resource use highest.The green supply chain now captures attention around the world.However，the current research on the green supply chain takes the manufacturing supply chain as the main object of study，rarely involving the supply chain of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables.

2.2 Definition of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetablesThe fruits and vegetables are regarded as the daily edible agricultural products for people，and their quality and safety and＂green＂will directly affect the health of consumers.Like the general green supply chain，the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables also requires low negative effects of the environment and high resource utilization rate，as well as the healthiness and freshness of fruits and vegetables.

Currently，there is no uniform definition of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.Some scholars have proposed the definitions of green supply chain of agricultural products.Zhong Bolan believes that the green supply chain of agricultural products is to integrate the＂green＂concept into the entire agricultural supply chain，and ecologically design it.The agricultural production material suppliers，agricultural producers，agricultural product processing enterprises，agricultural sellers and consumers work closely together to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products，protect biodiversity and promote the sustainable development of agriculture.The establishment and development of the green supply chain of agricultural products has an extremely broad sense［4］.

Wang Chunxiao and other scholars believe that the management of green supply chain in the circular agriculture is mainly performed from green design and production，green transportation，green processing and circulation，green consumption and green recycling，and set forth the corresponding evaluation indicators［5］.

Li Qingtao maintains that the management of green supply chain of agricultural products is to integrate＂green＂or＂environmental consciousness＂into the entire supply chain of agricultural products，and environmentally design the entire chain，to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products，and promote economic and environmental sustainability［6］.

According to the definition of green supply chain of agricultural products，we believe that the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables is the supply chain which integrates the ideas of＂green，health and environmental protection＂into the entire supply chain，and makes various links such as cultivation，processing，distribution and marketing meet the requirements of small negative effects of the environment and high resource utilization rate based on the premise that the products are safe and salutary.

3 The current situation of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables and existing problem s in China

The agricultural products of fruits and vegetables have the features of high timeliness，perish ability and circulation information asymmetry.In the course of production，distribution and marketing of fruits and vegetables in China，there are always some non-green issues such as environ mental pollution and resource depletion，and the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables is not high.

3.1 Great circulation loss of fruits and vegetables and serious waste of packaging resourcesThe agricultural products of fruits and vegetables are extremely perishable，so there may be a great loss in the circulation process.According to statistics，the loss rate of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables in China after harvest reaches as high as25%to30%；the annual loss is as high as80million tons，and the loss sum is more than 100 billion yuan per year［7］.

Statistics show that if the loss of fruits and vegetables in China is reduced by 3%to 5%，then the loss of 2 million tons of fruits will be reduced.If the losses are reduced by 15%，the production value of fruits and vegetables can be more than 12 billion yuan.In order to reduce the circulation losses，it is necessary to properly package the agricultural products of fruits and vegetables.

According to the survey，the packaging materials for each carton of fruits and vegetables weigh 3 kg.The vast majority of these packaging materials are not to be reused，resulting in a huge waste of resources and environmental pollution.There are statistics in an article showing that in the course of vegetable procurement from Beijing to Shouguang in Shandong，the packaging material costs account for 63.9%of the total costs of procurement［8］.

3.2 Unable to fully guarantee＂green，healthiness and harmlessness＂of fruits and vegetablesAt present，China lags far behind the United States，Europe and other developed countries in terms of production technology of pesticides，fertilizers，packaging materials，testing equipment and other agricultural means of production，coupled with breeding and pollution prevention technology.

China lacks efficient，low-toxicity and non-toxic pesticide production technology，and the most widely used pesticides are mostly toxic，often resulting in excessive residues of toxic substances in agricultural products.

China's agricultural production has long followed the extensive developmentmode，causing environmental pollution and ecological destruction.The chemical fertilizer and pesticide pollution，air pollution，water pollution，soil pollution and the pollution caused by human action often make the acute poisoning incidents happen frequently，such as＂poisoning bean sprouts＂incident in Shenyang and＂poisoning ginger＂incident in Yichang，so the quality and safety problems of fruits and vegetables are becoming increasingly prominent.

3.3 Low level of cold chain technology of fruits and vegetables and rapid decline in the freshness of fruits and vegetables

The development of China's fruit and vegetable cold chain lags behind，resulting in serious freshness loss of fruits and vegetables in the circulation process，unable to meet the increasing consumer demand for quality.The cold chain logistics of fruits and vegetables in China has not yet formed a complete and independent cold chain system.

According to the relevant data，the cold chain circulation rate of fruits and vegetables in China is only 5%at present，and currently approximately 90%of the fresh fruits and vegetables are transported and distributed without cold chain［9］.

4 Analysis of the factors influencing the operational efficiency of the green supp ly chain of fruits and vegetables in China

4.1 The connotation of supply chain efficiencyThe supply chain efficiency is the expression of the overall operation effect of supply chain and the degree ofmeeting the ultimate objective.The supply chain efficiency can be measured by the effective achievements generated from the inputs in the supply chain.

Yang Dequan and other scholars defines the following expression about supply chain efficiency［10］：

where the supply chain efficiency isθ；Y is the total output of the supply chain，namely the sum of output of all nodes on the supply chainis the total input to the supply chain，namely the sum of input of all nodes on the supply chain，is the interval for input to be converted into output.

4.2 Analysis of the factors influencing the operational efficiency of the green supp ly chain of fruits and vegetablesAccording to the above definition of supply chain efficiency，the factors influencing the supply chain of fruits and vegetables include various factors affecting the total supply chain input，total supply chain output，and the input-output conversion time.

4.2.1 The overall level of supply chain collaboration.When the individual interests of supply chain members are not entirely consistent with the overall interests of supply chain，it requires coordination between the subjects of supply chain，to make the overall efficiency of supply chain highest.For the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables，its efficiency depends not only on the efficiency of supply chain subjects，but also on the overall level of collaboration of supply chain.

The agricultural products of fruits and vegetables have the features of per is ha bility，regional planting and seasonality，and all subjects of supply chain are required to achieve harmonization.The upstream and downstream participants must rely on uniform standards or contracts to achieve the purpose of mutual restraint，so as to realize benefit maximization of the entire chain and the whole society.

4.2.2 Supply chain stages.The more the supply chain stages of fruits and vegetables，the longer the required circulation time，the greater the circulation loss of fruits and vegetables，and the greater the decline in freshness.These will affect the supply chain efficiency of fruits and vegetables.

Therefore，many fruits and vegetables have begun to use the mode of＂directly linking farmers with supermarkets＂，to minimize the supply chain stages.

4.2.3 Technical level of circulation.At present，the application of cold chain logistics of fruits and vegetables in China is not widespread，and the cold chain technique level is relatively backward.The technical level of circulation will directly affect the freshness of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables，thus affecting the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.

5 Analysis of the key driving force for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables in China based on AHP method

5.1 The driving force for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables in China

5.1.1 Building scientific and reasonable collaborative decision making mechanism to improve supply chain collaboration degree.The efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables is determined by the total input and output of supply chain.All the links should collaborate to establish the collaboration system for the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.The key to the successful establishment of this collaboration system is the building of collaborative decision-making mechanism.

Building the collaborative decision-making mechanism of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables can make all supply chain subjects'decisions consistent，improve coordination of the various subjects，effectively integrate all links，optimize fruit and vegetable circulation system，enhance the circulation efficiency of fruits and vegetables，improve resource utilization rate，reduce supply chain distribution costs，reduce the negative effects on the environment，and promote the green level of supply chain of fruits and vegetables，thereby ensure the sustainable development of supply chain of fruits and vegetables.

5.1.2 Promoting the cold chain technology of fruits and vegetables.In order to improve the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables，it is necessary to increase output and reduce input.The use of cold chain technology can make the agricultural products of fruits and vegetables maintain high degree freshness，and increase the market demand，thereby increasing the overall revenue of fruit and vegetable supply chain.

The cold chain technology increases the supply chain input，but it can reduce the circulation loss of the agricultural products of fruits and vegetables.Thus，overall，the application of cold chain technology can reduce the overall cost of fruit and vegetable supply chain.

5.1.3 Vigorously developing the fruit and vegetable supply chain based on the model of＂linking farmers and supermarkets＂.＂Linking farmers and supermarkets＂is an important way to improve the logistics efficiency of fruits and vegetables and reduce the prices of agricultural products of fruits and vegetables.

The fruit and vegetable supply chain based on the model of＂linking farmers and supermarkets＂minimizes the supply chain stages，reduces transaction costs，and shortens the conversion time of supply chain input and output，thereby increasing the efficiency of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.

5.2 Using AHP method to determine the key driving force

The analytic hierarchy process（AHP）is a structured technique for organizing and analyzing complex decisions，based on mathematics and psychology.It was developed by Thomas L.Saaty in the1970sand has been extensively studied and refined since then.It has particular application in group decision making，and is used around the world in a wide variety of decision situations，in fields such as government，business，industry，healthc are，and education.

Rather than prescribing a＂correct＂decision，the AHP helps decision makers find one that best suits their goal and their understanding of the problem.It provides a comprehensive and rational framework for structuring a decision problem，for representing and quantifying its elements，for relating those elements to overall goals，and for evaluating alternative solutions.

AHP is a suitable way to seek the key driving forces for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.Therefore，this article will use this method to identify the key driving forces for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.

5.2.1 Building the hierarchical structure model.There are three major driving forces for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables：building the collaborative decision making mechanism；promoting the fruit and vegetable cold chain technology；developing the supply chain based on the model of＂linking farmers and supermarkets＂.

The hierarchical structure model can be built based on this，as shown in Fig.1.

The hierarchical structure model includes three layers：

（i）The first layer is goal，which elaborates the research goal-to improve the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables；

（ii）The second layer is criteria，which set forth the measurement criteria for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables，specifically including increasing output，reducing input，and shortening time；

（iii）The third layer is alternatives，namely the driving forces for improving the supply chain efficiency of fruits and vegetables，specifically including building the collaborative decision making mechanism，promoting the fruit and vegetable cold chain technology，and developing the supply chain based on the model of＂linking farmers and supermarkets＂.

Fig.1 The hierarchical structure model of the key driving force for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables

5.2.2 Building the judgment matrix.This paper uses the Delphi method to carry out the expert questionnaire survey.The selected experts include two institution experts，two supermarket logistics managers，one wholesale fruit market leader，one person in charge of government logistics association，one person in charge of agricultural cooperative.

These experts are asked to complete questionnaire anonymously without mutual interference.According to the experts'scoring results，9-scale method is used to assign value to the judgment matrix（Table 1），thereby deriving the judgment matrix of improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables：

Table 1 Definitions of 9-scale method

5.2.3 Calculating the criteria layer weight.For the judgment A，the square root method is used to calculateand then it is normalized，to derive the criteria layer weight vector：

5.2.4 Carrying out the consistency test of the judgment matrix.

（i）According to equation（1），the maximum eigenvalue λmaxof judgmentmatrix A is calculated（λmax＝3.002）.

（ii）Then the consistency index CI is calculated.The higher the value of CI，the greater the deviation from the full consistency for the judgment matrix；the smaller the value of CI（close to0），and the better the consistency of judgment matrix.The specific calculation formula of CI is shown in formula（2）：

CI is calculated at0.001.

（iii）By referring to the average random consistency index table（Table 2），the average random consistency index RI＝0.58.

Table 2 The average random consistency index

（iv）According to equation 3，the relative consistency index CR is calculated.

CR is calculated at0.002.From CR≤0.1，it is found that the judgment matrix has satisfactory consistency.

5.2.5 Carrying out the alternative weight ranking.The pairwise evaluation and analysis are carried out on the three alternatives，and the utility matrix in the alternative layer is calculated as follows：

Thus the weight ranking of the three alternatives is as follows：

The results show that building the collaborative decision-making mechanism is of the greatest importance to improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables，and the weight is 0.55；the weight of promoting the fruit and vegetable cold chain technology，and developing the supply chain based on the model of＂linking farmers and supermarkets＂，is 0.23 and 0.22，respectively.

It is found that the key driving force for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables is building a scientific and rational collaborative decision-making mechanism.

6 Conclusions and recommendations

With economic development and consumers'increasing requirements of fruit and vegetable quality，it is an inevitable trend to develop the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables.However，the efficiency of the green supply chain of fruits and vegetables in China is not high.

By analyzing the driving force for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables based on AHP method，we draw the conclusion that the key driving force for improving the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables is building a scientific and rational collaborative decision-making mechanism，to ensure that the goals and interests of all fruit and vegetable supply chain subjects are consistent.

Scientific and rational collaborative decision-making mechanism includes benefit-distributing collaborative decision-making mechanism，cost-sharing collaborative decision-making mechanism，risk-sharing collaborative decision-making mechanism and collaborative decision-making security mechanism.

All the subjects of fruit and vegetable supply chain should first highlight the necessity of building collaborative decision-making mechanism，and then establish normal communication mechanism to strengthen communication and coordination，and seek fair and reasonable benefit-distributing，cost-sharing and risk-sharing collaborative decision-making approaches.

It is necessary to build scientific and rational collaborative decision-making mechanism to improve the efficiency of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables，and promote the development of green supply chain of fruits and vegetables in China.

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