Measuring Market Power for Food Retail Activities: French Evidence

In this paper we develop and estimate an empirical model of pricing behaviour for food retail firms in both a quantity‐setting oligopoly engaged in the joint production of demand‐related final goods and a quantity‐setting oligopsony for supply‐unrelated wholesale goods. The procedure consists of estimating an inverse demand system for the final goods, single supply functions for the wholesale goods and the retail industry first‐order profit‐maximisation conditions, from which an estimate of the degree of imperfect competition and of oligopoly‐oligopsony power for the different commodities can be retrieved. The model is applied to the French food retail industry and three commodities are distinguished: dairy products, meat products and other food products. We strongly reject the hypothesis that French food retail firms behave competitively, and more than 20 and 17 per cent of the wholesale‐to‐retail price margins for dairy products and meat products, respectively, can be attributed to oligopoly‐oligopsony distortions.     

Home Bias in Primary Agricultural and Processed Food Trade: Assessing the Effects of National Degree of Uncertainty Aversion

This study investigates the effects of national degrees of uncertainty aversion (unfamiliarity avoidance) on the magnitude of bias towards domestic products rather than imports. The empirical analysis is implemented for primary agricultural and processed food products, using a panel dataset covering trade between and within OECD countries. Primary agricultural products are often blended and associated with reference prices. Conversely, processed food products exhibit higher levels of product differentiation. The empirical results confirm expectations by emphasizing the magnifying effects of uncertainty aversion on home bias in the case of processed food products but not in the case of primary agricultural products. These magnifying effects are primarily associated with processed food products destined for final household consumption. Other results reveal significant variations between different countries (based on geo‐economic and national income categories). Our results also indicate that home bias and uncertainty aversion effects on home bias have not decreased over time. The empirical results remain robust under different estimation methods.     

Price relationships between qualitatively differentiated agricultural products: organic and conventional wheat in Germany

Organic agriculture, which produces commodities that can be qualitatively differentiated from conventional food products, has grown into an important market in many countries. The dynamics of commodity prices in both sectors are partly interdependent, but are also shaped by independent determinants and have rarely been studied. We analyze organic food markets and their interdependencies with conventional markets in the context of wheat markets in Germany, which have been subject to a number of fundamental changes during the last two decades. Based on institutional market characteristics, we suggest a flexible Markov‐switching asymmetric time series model. We find a pronounced temporal sequence of market phases that differ in their asymmetric dynamics and the extent to which the organic price is influenced by the conventional price. Organic wheat prices tend to be increasingly connected to prices of conventional wheat.     

TRADE REFORM AND THE PROSPECTS FOR PROCESSED FOOD EXPORTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This paper draws attention to the relative neglect of the consequences of barriers to processed food exports from developing countries in the literature examining the effects on these countries of agricultural trade liberalisation. These barriers are of three kinds: trade policy barriers; differing health, food safety and environmental standards; and, barriers arising from the evolving market structure in food processing and distribution in developed country markets. The paper discusses the likely significance of the gains to developing countries from reduction of tariffs on processed food commodities and examines the consequences of the EU single market programme for developing country food exports.     

Implications of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement for Processed Food Markets

Canada and the European Union (EU) recently completed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to liberalize bilateral trade. Processed food trade between Canada and the EU is one of the fastest growing markets, in spite of large trade restrictions due to high tariffs and egregious nontariff barriers (NTB). The processed food sector is characterized by firms which differ in size, productivity, produce differentiated products, and engage in monopolistic competition. We implement a four‐region (Canada, the EU, the United States, and the Rest of the World) model of the processed food industry, incorporating these firm characteristics to study the effects of CETA. The results show Canadian and EU bilateral trade flows expand, the number of exporting firms rises, and net welfare in both these countries increases. Though CETA does not liberalize NTBs, we examine the impacts of a 40% cut in NTBs to highlight the benefits that would have accrued had CETA also covered NTBs. Under this scenario, the trade flows would have expanded significantly, and, more importantly, Canadian and EU welfare would have risen by 11.8‐ and 39.4‐fold, respectively. Since CETA excludes the United States, the U.S. processed food industry loses due to greater competition in Canadian and the EU markets, and the net U.S. welfare declines.     

Using a functional approach to test trending volatility in the price of Mexican and international agricultural products

In this article, we extend the traditional GARCH(1,1) model by including a functional trend term in the conditional volatility of a time series. We derive the main properties of the model and apply it to all agricultural commodities in the Mexican CPI basket, as well as to the international prices of maize, wheat, swine, poultry, and beef products for three different time periods that implied changes in price regulations and behavior: before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; 1987–1993), post‐NAFTA (1994–2005), and commodity supercycle (2006–2014). The proposed model seems to adequately fit the volatility process and, according to heteroscedasticity tests, also outperforms the ARCH(1) and GARCH(1,1) models, some of the most popular approaches used in the literature to analyze price volatility. Our results show that, consistent with anecdotal evidence, price volatility trends increased from the period 1987–1993 to 1994–2005. From 1994–2005 to 2006–2014, trends decreased but the persistence of volatility increased for most products, especially for international commodities. In addition, we identify some agricultural products such as avocado, beans, and chicken that, due to their increasing price volatility trends in the 2006–2014 period, may present a risk for food inflation in the short run.     

Domestic Support and Border Measures for Processed Horticultural Products

In horticultural markets, trade barriers often apply to the processed products whereas domestic support applies to farm-produced raw commodities. Here we assess the effects of such trade barriers and domestic support by simulating the effects of policy reform on global processing tomato markets, which are faced with modest processed product tariffs and high domestic support in the European Union (EU). Both protection and EU subsidy drive down world welfare, but we find that reducing import tariffs for tomato products would yield greater effects on markets and larger welfare impacts outside Europe than would reductions in EU domestic support.     

Testing for spatial market integration: evidence for Colombia using a pairwise approach

We examine the extent of spatial market integration in Colombia using consumer price index data for 153 consumer goods in 13 cities. An econometric analysis of the time‐series properties of all the possible city price differentials reveals that market integration tends to occur more frequently in unprocessed food products, as opposed to processed foods, other traded and nontraded products. The results also support the view that, except for nontraded products, the speed at which prices adjust to the long‐run equilibrium is slower for cities that are farther apart.     

Avian influenza,non‐tariff measures and the poultry exports of China

This paper focuses on the direct impact of avian influenza outbreaks and the impact of the consequent non‐tariff measures (NTMs) on the international poultry trade. Using monthly export data from China and its 122 poultry importing countries, a random‐effect gravity model has been adopted. Emphasising the agri‐food trade in a global value chain context, the research analysis distinguishes between ‘agri‐food goods’ (mostly uncooked poultry products) and ‘processed goods’ (mostly cooked poultry products). The results show that domestic avian influenza outbreaks have a significant negative impact on a country's poultry imports compared with such outbreaks in exporting countries. Moreover, NTMs induced by avian influenza reduce the uncooked poultry trade but temporarily increase the cooked poultry trade. However, with a time‐lag, the cooked poultry trade may soon face increasing NTMs. The results also imply that developing countries that attempt to export agri‐food products to developed countries should increase and enhance processed food production.     

Taxes and Subsidies in Vertically Related Markets

In the framework of a two–country, two–good partial equilibrium model where one of the commodities (the bulk commodity) is an intermediate input in the production of the second good (the processed good), we assume that the government wishes to transfer income to both bulk commodity and processed good producers. Our analysis is concerned with efficient redistribution. The instruments are subsidies or taxes, and there is an opportunity cost of public funds. We use the targeting principle to characterize the set of optimal subsidies or taxes applied on both the bulk commodity and the final good in this vertically related market structure. The theoretical analysis is illustrated using the example of cereals (the bulk commodity) and pork and poultry (the processed good) in the European Union.     

Brexit and Tariff Rate Quotas on EU Imports: A Complex Problem

Tariff rate quotas (TRQ s) are a means by which non‐EU suppliers of agri‐food products can be given preferential access to EU markets within a regulated framework of quotas at tariff rates below the Most Favoured Nation rates bound in the GATT . TRQ s are common in governing trade in the meat and dairy sectors of the EU , although they apply to a wide range of other agricultural commodity and processed agri‐food products. Brexit poses a complex set of problems regarding TRQ s in terms of how the respective parties should divide up jointly undertaken commitments within the WTO , since TRQ s have been negotiated by the Commission on behalf of all EU Member States. Whilst individual quota allocations can be allocated to specific third country suppliers, individual Member States receive no specific allocation of the global product TRQ either in total, or from any named preferential supplier. The article outlines the nature of TRQ s in the meat and dairy sectors of the EU , and how a simple partitioning of existing quotas between the EU ‐27 and the UK is unlikely to resolve the complex issue of access rights of third countries to both markets. Possible solutions are explored, including the potential need for reciprocal EU ‐27–UK TRQ s post Brexit.     

耕地生产、生态功能视角下巨型城市区耕地补偿分区与补偿金配置研究

研究目的：探讨巨型城市区耕地生产、生态多功能需求下耕地补偿分区及补偿金配置模式。研究方法：文献资料法和模型分析法。研究结果：耕地补偿分区以耕地功能供需关系为直接依据,以区域公平为出发点;食物生产功能应是各级补偿分区的第一准则,生态服务功能应作为该功能需求强烈的巨型城市区的第二准则;复杂的层级式行政管理体制下,粮食安全视角的补偿金配置应以省级补偿关系为起点,兼顾土地利用效率理论及区域主体功能定位,采用自上而下的路径配置到末级实施单元;生态安全视角的耕地补偿面向巨型城市区内部,补偿分区及补偿金测算可直接到末级实施单元,不需要复杂的资金配置体系。研究结论：提出“粮食安全与生态安全二元制的巨型城市区耕地补偿分区模式及补偿金配置模型”,珠三角的案例分析验证了模式及模型的良好可行性。     

The impacts of biofuels targets on land‐use change and food supply: A global CGE assessment

We analyze the long‐term impacts of large‐scale expansion of biofuels on land‐use change, food supply and prices, and the overall economy in various countries or regions using a multi‐country, multi‐sector global computable general equilibrium model augmented with an explicit land‐use module and detailed biofuel sectors. We find that an expansion of biofuel production to meet the existing or even higher targets in various countries would slightly reduce GDP at the global level but with mixed effects across countries or regions. Significant land re‐allocation would take place with notable decreases in forest and pasture lands in a few countries. The expansion of biofuels would cause a moderate decrease in world food supply and more significant decreases in developing countries like India and Sub‐Saharan Africa. Feedstock commodities (sugar, corn and oil seeds) would experience significant increases in their prices in 2020, but other price changes are small.     

Consumer Behavior Toward Goat Milk and Its Processed Products in Malang,Indonesia

The study was carried out in Malang East Java, Indonesia. The purpose was to investigate how consumers behave with regard to fresh goat milk or its processed products and to examine determinants that influence this behavior. One hundred respondents were selected using a convenience sampling method and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze consumer behavior toward fresh goat milk or its processed products. This study could contribute to a better understanding of consumers' demand toward this food. Consumers often purchased fresh goat milk or its processed products whereas only a small number rarely bought this food. Consumers frequently demanded fresh goat milk or its processed products as they had more family members and perceived the importance of the availability, many choices, and the affordable price of this food. On the contrary, consumers with high education and concern about the importance of income, the existence of cow milk and its product, and consumers' perception about fresh goat milk and its processed products as special foods might seldom purchase these foods.     

High food commodity prices: will they stay? who will pay?

Much of the public discussion of the food price crisis has focused on the sharply increased use of food commodities for biofuel production, framing debate in simple food versus fuel terms. Reality is more complex. Multiple forces drove food prices to high levels and, according to findings we report in this article, these forces will sustain high prices over the medium term. We also find that the distinction between high world prices for food commodities and the consumer costs of food is an important one to make. Food consumers do not buy raw food commodities at international prices. The degree to which the price of traded food commodities and the price of food are related depends on a long list of factors, most of which operate to dampen price transmission. In the search for appropriate policy response, it is essential to measure consumer effects correctly and to apportion properly the causes of current high prices.     

Why U.S. Consumers Support Country of Origin Labeling: Examining the Impact of Ethnocentrism and Food Safety

ABSTRACT

The legality of U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL) laws for agricultural products has been challenged by foreign countries. Isolating the reasons why consumers support COOL can help determine the efficiency of COOL as a policy. Therefore, this study investigated why consumers have a desire for COOL. Data were collected through an online survey with 566 U.S. participants. Results of a bivariate ordered probit model indicate that as consumers are more ethnocentric and more pessimistic about the safety of their food, they are more likely to support COOL for sugar and for sugar in soft drinks. Thus, policies designed to inform the public about the safety of foreign commodities could reduce their desire for COOL. Evidence is also provided that highly ethnocentric individuals support COOL in an effort to “buy American” products.     

A model of optimal import phytosanitary inspection under capacity constraint

Growth and liberalization of world trade have increased the risks of introduction of quarantine plant pests into importing countries. Import inspection of incoming commodities is a major tool for prevention of pest introductions related to world trade, but inspection capacities are limited. This article develops a theoretical and an empirical model for the optimal allocation of inspection effort for phytosanitary inspection of imported commodities when the inspecting agency has a limited capacity. It is shown that the optimal allocation of inspection effort equalizes marginal costs of pest introduction across risky commodity pathways. The numerical illustration finds the optimal allocation of inspection effort of chrysanthemum cuttings imported in the Netherlands. The numerical results suggest that ceteris paribus , greater inspection effort should be allocated to pathways whose inspection yields a greater reduction in the expected costs of pest introduction. The numerical results also suggest that import inspection has a high marginal benefit. In particular, we found that each additional euro of the inspection capacity decreases the expected costs of pest introduction from 18 to 49 euros, depending on the initial inspection capacity.     

广平富硒农业观光园旅游商品开发研究

广平富硒农业观光园依靠农业科学技术种植富硒冬枣、富硒樱桃、富硒小麦等,发展观光旅游活动,打造特色旅游商品。目前,富硒农业观光园发展生态观光旅游已经取得了一定的成绩,但是富硒农业观光园的发展仍然存在基础设施建设不足、旅游商品单一、产业链不完善,辐射范围小、竞争压力大等问题。针对富硒农业观光园现状和存在问题,文章主要从广平富硒生态观光园的旅游商品开发方面分析,从旅游商品开发的现状、必要性、富硒产品的食品营养健康和市场营销以及如何完善产业链等方面进行论述,指出旅游商品开发的方向,针对性地提出可行性的解决方案。最终建成特色资源丰富、产业链完善、通过旅游购物来带动第一产业发展的特色商品生态观光园,促进生态旅游的深度开发和可持续发展。     

Spanish Household Demand for Seafood

Seafood is an important food commodity in Spain, the second largest consuming nation of seafood in the world. Today, several changes in demographics, socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle changes have affected demand for seafood products. Double‐hurdle models allow an examination of Spanish household expenditures on these products and explicitly account for the value of women's time. The empirical evidence shows that the set of statistically significant factors in the participation and expenditure equations is not the same for fresh and processed seafood goods. Income and household demographic variables are important determinants of both participation and expenditures on seafood products. In addition, the value of women's time affects expenditures on processed products, which include frozen, cured, and canned seafood goods.     

基于偏移—份额法的区域建设用地结构变化和空间分布研究

研究目的:利用偏移份额模型研究区域建设用地结构变化和空间分布特征并分析其原因,为区域建设用地的合理布局提供参考。研究方法:偏移—份额法和文献资料法。研究结果:不同类型建设用地的偏移份额比在空间上差异巨大;城镇用地、独立工矿用地和交通运输用地属于增长性结构,农村居民点用地、特殊用地和水利设施用地属于衰退性结构;各地对不同类型建设用地的竞争优势存在显著的空间差异。研究结论:区域建设用地结构变化及其空间差异性是由区域经济要素、资源禀赋、区位条件和区域政策共同作用的结果;偏移—份额模型将区域空间和建设用地结构纳入统一的分析框架,揭示了一段时期内建设用地结构变化和空间配置特征。