Political economy of the US–Mexican tomato trade agreement

We develop a political economy model to analyse the US–Mexican tomato trade agreement by treating the minimum import price as a negotiated settlement. We incorporate the special characteristics of the US–Mexican tomato dispute, namely trade among large countries, the role of competing fresh and processed tomato lobbies, quota revenues accruing to Mexican producers, bargaining for a minimum import price rather than a tariff, and the role of the Canadian tomato market. We show the importance of the size of the lobby group's supply, the weight elected officials' place on national welfare, and the elasticities of export supply and import demand in determining the optimal price wedge. For the United States, larger fresh tomato or cherry–grape tomato supply intensifies the degree of protection awarded to US growers, while US processors work to mitigate this effect. From Mexico's perspective, larger Mexican fresh or cherry–grape output induces a push towards free trade due to the agreement's depressing effect on Mexican prices, while Mexican processors and quota revenues exacerbate the price wedge.     

Consumer Preferences for Fresh Tomatoes in Benin using a Conjoint Analysis

Constraints related to the technical and socioeconomic aspects of adopting tomato varieties are well documented. However, preferences relating to the demand for this fruit are rarely studied. In fact, demand for the different varieties of tomatoes might be related to consumers’ preferences for the extrinsic (color, size) and intrinsic (taste, nutritive value, water content) characteristics specific to each variety. It is therefore indispensable to determine the characteristics of tomatoes preferred by consumers. We examine consumers’ preferences for tomato attributes among a sample of 600 consumers in four representative markets in the main cities in southern Benin. The study also identifies potential segments of consumers and the market shares of each profile for each segment. The study identifies four potential tomato market segments, two of which have a strong preference for local tomatoes, namely, those that can be conserved for long periods and those with a firm consistency.     

我国露地番茄生产效率的区域比较分析

随着我国人口数量的上升和居民消费水平提高,蔬菜的消费需求不断增加,蔬菜生产和供应的稳定增加至关重要,而提高蔬菜生产效率是保证供应稳定的重要途径.运用面板数据DEA分析法——Malmquist指数法计算了2003～ 2009年全国27个大中城市露地番茄生产的全要素生产效率值,并将各地区的全要素生产率分解为技术变化、纯技术效率和规模效率.通过对计算结果的分析认为,我国经济发达地区新技术的投入水平较高,但全国范围内对已有技术的利用程度较低,我国露地番茄的生产效率还有很大提升空间.     

Market Integration and Market Efficiency under Seasonal Tariff Rate Quotas

Switzerland applies seasonal tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for the import of many fruits and vegetables during the domestic harvest season. We examine how this system affects the relationship between Italian and Swiss tomato prices and test for physical market integration and spatial equilibrium conditions over time. We use detailed, transaction‐based data on trade flows and trade costs and estimate an extended parity bounds model, following Barrett and Li (2002). We confirm that in the summer season, when TRQs are in place, markets are inefficient. While quota holders receive positive rents, the marginal rents for importers without quota shares are negative. This inhibits trade flows above the in‐quota import quantity allowed by TRQs. Hence, despite leading to inefficiencies and creating rents for importers, seasonal TRQs are effective in protecting domestic production against competing imports.     

复合乳酸菌发酵番茄汁菌种鉴定及发酵工艺优化

本文以加工番茄为原料,模拟工业生产工艺制备番茄汁,添加从酸奶中分离鉴定所得菌种,驯化制成复合发酵剂,研究优化发酵番茄汁的加工工艺.发酵菌种鉴定结果为植物乳杆菌和嗜热链球菌.采用单因素试验和正交试验,结合感官评价法优化获得了制备发酵番茄汁的最佳工艺:白砂糖添加量10%、发酵时间14 h、发酵剂添加量1‰、发酵温度37%,发酵终点PH值3.96.     

哈尔滨市设施蔬菜土壤硝酸盐污染改良剂的应用效果研究

针对哈尔滨市辖区部分设施蔬菜土壤硝酸盐污染现状,在五常市五常镇、香坊区光明村蔬菜基地开展硝酸盐污染改良剂的应用研究,通过田间小区试验,研究4种改良剂产品对种植土壤硝酸盐、硝态氮含量,番茄产量、硝酸盐含量及品质的影响。结果表明:4种处理对土壤中硝酸盐和硝态氮含量影响均呈现明显下降趋势,较对照(CK)达显著水平,其中腐植酸+EM菌+双氰胺(HA+EM+DCD)处理效果最为显著,其次为处理EM+DCD、HA+DCD和DCD;番茄产量HA+EM+DCD处理效果最为显著,两地番茄产量为106.11kg/20m2和97.26kg/20m2,比CK增产11.2%和21.7%,达到显著性差异(P0.05);4种处理对番茄中硝酸盐含量降幅均达40%以上,处理EM+DCD、HA+EM+DCD好于处理DCD、HA+DCD,并达显著差异水平;3种处理对番茄Vc、可溶性糖含量及糖酸比均有促进作用,显著改善番茄品质,试验效果HA+EM+DCDHA+DCDEM+DCD。综合评价,改良剂的试验效果依次为HA+EM+DCDHA+DCDEM+DCDDCD。     

Multi-year assessment of Unilever's progress towards agricultural sustainability II: outcomes for peas (UK), spinach (Germany,Italy), tomatoes (Australia,Brazil, Greece,USA), tea (Kenya,Tanzania, India) and oil palm (Ghana)

The foods, home and personal care company, Unilever, is a large user of raw materials from agriculture, and a major buyer of goods on world markets. The continued supply of these materials is seen as an important component in the business's long-term success. The company has a long history of seeking to farm responsibly on company farms and for directly contracted raw materials, but it became clear that an approach based solely on suppliers' good agricultural practice would not safeguard supplies where increasing social and environmental pressures on agriculture were growing, or where increasing consumer concerns about the food chain could undermine markets and brands. Both threats suggested the need for a more radical approach. This resulted in the development of a mission statement, the agreement of four principles for sustainable agriculture, the identification of ten sustainable agriculture indicators (later 11), and the selection of five key crops the sustainable supply of which was significant to the company.

This paper summarizes progress towards the sustainable supply of these crops by reporting on selected sustainability indicators for the crops (peas, spinach, tomatoes, tea and oil palm) in 11 countries. Some of the businesses using these products have been subsequently sold, but these are reported here because the aim is to explore how responsive are different indicators of sustainability to management action in different crops in widely differing locations. This paper focuses on a selection of findings for each of the 10 indicators, in order to illustrate the extent of changes that have been observed over time. These also indicate some of the difficulties faced in making improvements on the ground. The gathering of data on sustainability indicators is closely tied to the development of alternative practices that should quickly deliver improvements in a variety of outcomes. An assessment is also made of the key changes that have occurred for each of the main five crops as a result of adopting the sustainability indicator system and associated new management practices.

Multi-year assessments were conceived as the way to understand and demonstrate progress towards more sustainable agriculture. The important developments were of systems that combined ensuring that agricultural suppliers performed to an acceptable set of criteria, and then had the capacity and willingness to identify the most critical areas where further progress was required. The challenge for the company is now to encourage others to adopt their approach to making supply chains more sustainable, both for their customers and the consumers of their branded goods.     

Environmental impact of Italian canned tomato logistics: national vs. regional supply chains

The environmental impact of food transportation is site and product specific and depends on the direct relation between origin-to-destination distance and logistic efficiency, as pointed out by the relevant literature. This paper analyses a very specific case, comparing the impacts of transportation generated by the logistics of two brands of Italian canned tomato purchased in Sassari (Sardinia, Italy), one extending over the whole continental Italian territory, the other mainly located in the island of Sardinia. Different sale (supermarket chain vs. independent retailers) and shopping (foot vs. car) modalities are also considered. The contributions to global warming, local pollution and traffic congestion are considered.The case study shows that the logistics of the national brand is much more polluting than the regional, not only because of the longer distance between origin and destination, but also because the additional distance that is needed to reach logistic hubs is not compensated by higher load factors. Instead, the logistics of the regional brand is based on a very efficient point-to-point organization. This result is generalizable to all regional supply chains featuring high volumes of product. Results of the case study also depend on: a) the high impact of packaging transportation, because of the very low weight/volume ratio of empty cans; b) the high CO₂ emission coefficient of lorries and trailers transportation by ferry (Ro–Ro). The case study also stresses the very high impact of shopping by car.     

番茄供应链的现状及问题分析——基于新疆番茄数据

近两年来,番茄供应链出现了较大的波动性,农户和加工企业利益受损,整个供应链陷入"减产—涨价—增产—跌价—减产"的恶性循环;基于新疆番茄供应链的调查数据,进一步分析发现番茄制品加工企业决策的盲目性、信息传递的滞后性以及供应链核心企业地位的缺失是导致番茄产品供应链波动的主要原因;加强农户的组织化程度、建立供应链核心企业地位可以增加供应链的协同性,对完善番茄供应链体系提供参考建议。     

中国新疆番茄产业发展现状分析

由于丰富优质的原料资源、较低的成本等优势,新疆番茄产业发展前景喜人。新疆番茄的生产在中国甚至在世界上都具举足轻重的地位,从一定程度上说影响着番茄的世界贸易格局。与此同时,新疆番茄产业发展面临诸多问题,应通过政策扶持、产业结构调整、绿色贸易、品牌战略及龙头企业的带动等措施实现新疆番茄产业的可持续发展。