Recent food scares in the food market has caused a reduction in consumer’s confidence in the food system that it has induced a significant reduction in consumption in a sector, the beef sector that was already characterized by a saturated trend in quantity terms. In this context, all participants in the beef production system are facing to a greatchallenge, to retrieve consumer’s confidence in the food chain and to mitigate the reduction in beef consumption. The aim of the paper is to analyse the impact of consumer’s confidence in the food system as well as other factors on the explanation of food consumption reduction. A structural modelling approach has been used to analyse factors affecting the reduction in beef consumption in two different regions characterised by different production systems and different marketing strategies (PGI beef label). Results indicate that main factor explaining the reduction in beef consumption is the confidence in the beef and a positive relation has been found. Moreover, confidence in a product is directly related to the perceived quality offered by farmers and other decision makers on the beef chain, and to the consumer involvement with the product. Therefore, the main implication is that participants in the food chain has to develop adequate communication strategies such as quality labelling in order to increase consumers perceive quality because, higher quality perception will recover consumers’ confidence in beef, and therefore, it will mitigate beef consumption reduction.

We introduce an easily implemented and flexible calibration technique for partial demand systems, combining recent developments in incomplete demand systems and a set of restrictions conditioned on the available elasticity-estimates. The technique accommodates various degrees of knowledge on cross-price elasticities, satisfies curvature restrictions, and allows the recovery of an exact welfare measure for policy analysis. The technique is illustrated with a partial demand system for food consumption in Korea for different states of knowledge on cross-price effects. The consumer welfare impact of food and agricultural trade liberalization is measured.

Previous quantitative assessments of likely impacts of recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (in particular the Agenda 2000) differ across empirical studies. Differences are mainly due to the ways the policy instruments are taken into account (explicit modeling or implicit modeling i.e. using ad-valorem equivalents). The aim of this paper is to assess empirically the impacts of recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy and the consequences of the Mid-Term proposals on world cereals markets. We develop an econometric, dynamic, multi-product, partial equilibrium commodity model that focuses on arable crops. Major exporters and major importers are modeled separately, other countries being included in a rest of the world category. For the countries or regions explicitly integrated the model estimates supply, demand and trade. The model we develop has two important features:
i) the parameters estimated in the behavioral equations (supply and demand) satisfy regularity conditions and
ii) the agricultural policy instruments (in particular CAP instruments) are modeled in an explicit way.

In the empirical section, attention focuses on the world cereals market. We provide a market outlook through the year 2009 for three different scenarios: baseline projections and two scenarios based on different assumptions regarding the evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (the Mid-Term Review scenario and the decoupling scenario). Estimated effects of the mid-term scenario on EU crop prices depend on the relationship between EU and world market prices.

The paper deals with problems concerning the current sugar policy within the Common Agricultural Policy, especially the efficiency losses due to the combination of high prices and quota on subsidised sugar production. Based on a simple econometric model, the total economic costs of the current policy setting, compared with an unregulated setting, are estimated to be in the area of 20 per cent of the total sugar production, valued at world market prices. Of these costs, some 10 per cent are due to inefficiency in the crop production, as the opportunity costs of land are not taken into account because the sugar price support within the quota overrules these opportunity costs. However, according to the estimates obtained in the present study, the main economic gains by reducing the internal prices are to be found in terms of reduced consumer costs rather than improved efficiency in land use.

We analyse the competition in quality and quantity between a foreign firm and a domestic firm. The domestic firm can belong to a certification of origin, whereas its rival uses a pure brand strategy. We will show how the certification can allow the domestic firm to position itself as a high quality producer and improve the average quality of the products offered on the market. If, however, the certified firm offers the low quality good, the certification can permit it to guarantee a higher profit than that of its competitor and to improve the consumers’ surplus by favoring product standardisation.

Один из основных учебников, используемых при изучении экономики аграрного производства. В издании рассматривается специфика аграрного производства, делаются спецификации для производственных функций. Процесс производства анализируется как со стороны используемых ресурсов, так и выпуска готовой продукции.

This paper proposes a partial equilibrium displacement model that differentiates wheat according to its end-use and country of origin to investigate the impact of alternative European trade policies on wheat supply and demand in France. Transmission, demand and supply elasticities are estimated for each class and origin of wheat. Simulation results show that rebalancing trade protection across wheat classes encourages domestic supply of high quality wheat and displaces imports from North America.

This study investigated the efficiency and productivity change of a sample of food distribution units (MERCAs) in Spain over the 1.997-1.999 period, applying non-parametric frontier methodology in a sales efficiency framework. We specified a mean sales model composed of two blocks of variables, the production block, and the marketing management block. Then we applied output oriented DEA methodology to perform the efficiency analysis, also taking into account the overall efficiency decomposition into pure and scale efficiency. The Malmquist index was calculated in order to analyse the components of the productivity change.

The mean pure sales efficiency index was high, around 0.8, the mean scale index being 0,9. As appears from the results, six food distribution units were efficient, but some of the wholesale markets need to adapt their sales technology in order that their input bundle reaches a Most Productive Scale Size unit.

We found no evidence of technical change during the period considered, but concluded that a notable scale efficiency change took place during the studied period.

To summarise, we conclude that improvement in sales efficiency could be reached in the studied sector in both the pure and the scale efficiency.

In Uganda, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, poverty is concentrated in rural areas. Because agriculture accounts for a large share of incomes for these households, policies and external shocks that affect agriculture, including shifts in world prices, changes in agricultural productivity, and reductions in marketing costs, may have significant effects on rural poverty. In this paper, we use a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of the Ugandan economy, explicitly designed to capture regional variations in agricultural production and household incomes, to examine the implications of these policy changes and shocks.

Simulation results suggest that a doubling of area planted to coffee (the government.s target) would increase rural consumption by less than 2.0 percent, because of an estimated 10 percent decline in the world price of robusta coffee and an 11.3 percent real exchange rate appreciation of the Ugandan shilling. Smaller productivity increases in food crops may have greater potential to raise rural incomes, provided that markets perform well and producer incentives are maintained. A five percent increase in agricultural productivity raises consumption by 1.3 to 2.1 percent among rural households and lowers food prices by 3.4 to 3.8 percent relative to the CPI, thus benefiting households with high food consumption shares. Reducing agricultural marketing margins by 30 percent leads to increases of 2.3 to 4.1 percent in consumption of farm households, with the largest gains in regions where consumption out of own production is lower.

Using a partial equilibrium model of world agriculture, we investigate the multilateral removal of all border taxes and farm programs and their distortion of world agricultural markets. These distortions have significant terms-of-trade effects. World trade is also significantly impacted by both types of distortions. Trade expansion is substantial for most commodities, especially dairy, meats, and vegetable oils. Net agricultural and food exporters (Brazil, Australia, and Argentina) emerge with expanded exports; whereas net importing countries with limited distortions before liberalization are penalized by higher world markets prices and reduced imports. The US gains significant export shares in livestock products and imports more dairy products. Without protection and domestic subsidies, the EU loses many of its livestock and dairy export markets.

Based on the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) approach this paper provides an assessment of the competitive position of the Hungarian agro-food industry in view of EU integration. The situation in the food processing sector is assessed with the use of actual cost data from representative Hungarian companies. The paper presents an assessment of the current situation prior to EU integration as well as a future outlook under various scenarios with regard to the expected policy environment and the rate of technological change. The actual measurement of competitiveness in this study focuses mainly on Private Resource Cost (PRC) which indicates competitiveness under real market conditions and Domestic Resource Cost (DRC) which gives an assessment on the social or economic efficiency of an activity, i.e. whether domestic resources are really used efficiently in current production. In the food processing sector 21 different food products have been investigated which fall into four industries: meat, poultry, dairy, and fruits and vegetables. Under current conditions only some products are competitive in private terms. The situation would improve after EU integration especially for poultry, fruits and vegetables, because agricultural policy conditions are more favourable under the CAP. If additional FDI(Foreign Direct Investments) would flow into the country after EU membership, this would boost profitability. As far as DRC values are concerned, it must be stated that only some of the production activities are clearly efficient. Dairy, fruits and vegetables, and roast goose production show relatively weak social competitiveness, while other poultry and fruit and vegetables products are more favourable from the economic point of view. As EU policies provide on average higher protection levels, the competitiveness of Hungarian food processing on world markets would deteriorate for most products after EU accession. However, these effects can be offset by additional technological change due to FDI inflows or otherwise induced technological progress.

The present study attempts to offer more insights into the Greek wine market with emphasis on wines produced from organically grown grapes by relating wine choice to consumers’ personal value structure. With the use of a qualitative sample and applying the Means-end Chains methodology and the corresponding “laddering” interviewing technique, it attempts first to reveal the way basic motives are linked to wine shopping behaviour of consumers and the way wine purchase-relevant knowledge is stored and organised in their memory in relation to their personal values. Then, by discriminating between organic food buyers and non-buyers, the study identifies motivational and cognitive discriminating differences between the two consumer types, which can offer a solid explanation as to their distinctive purchasing behaviour in respect of the organic products.

Most of the large-scale millers in Ghana provide a loan to the farmers under the agreement that the farmers will bring their paddy to them.

This paper examines the effect of this interlinkage on the efficiency of rice milling. A quadratic cost function was estimated, and capacity utilization was calculated in relation to money lending. The results show that if the millers provide a loan to the farmers, the operating rate will increase by 24%.

This paper brings time series techniques to bear on the relationships between the prices of the principal types of wheat traded internationally. In all, the relationships between eleven wheat prices (categorised by wheat quality, harvest date and port of despatch) are scrutinised to uncover the structure of the wheat market implicit in the behaviour its prices reveal. The statistical evidence supports the notion of a highly integrated market that is segmented according to wheat strength . the principal determinant of end-use. Three segments are identified: a market for "strong" (bread-making) wheat, another for "weak" (confectionary products- making) wheat and a third for medium strength wheat suitable for unleavened breads and noodles. Whilst informative, market integration - detected by cointegration among prices . is not altogether surprising, yet the presence of cointegration implies a causal structure, which is of more cogent interest. Among a number of complementary techniques, linkages are uncovered using an innovative concept of irreducible cointegration vectors (Davidson 1998, Barassi et al 2001) which provides new evidence on price linkages. Statistical evidence is robust and not test-dependent. Specifically, we find a dominant price leader in each sub-market. In terms of its pricing, the EU is found to play a passive role in the world market, confirming a widely held view.

In this paper we present a methodology to analyse input use in the agricultural sector. The novelty of the theoretical model explained is that it has been developed considering a multi-criteria environment. Thus, the optimal input use condition is determined by the assessment of "multi-attribute utility" and "multi-attribute marginal utility". We show how the approach adopted in this paper is a generalization of the single-attribute expected utility theory. The theoretical model developed is further implemented in an empirical application that studies water for irrigation use as a particular case. Results show how multi-attribute utility functions elicited for a sample of 52 irrigators explain differences on irrigation water use in relative homogenous agricultural systems, albeit exhibiting similar water partial utility functions. We conclude that these differences come from the dissimilar weights that farmers attached to each attribute in the aggregate utility function. The irrigated area considered as case study is located in North-western Spain.