Differentiating the consumer benefits from labeling of GM food products

Although recurrent evidence is found that consumers have different willingness to pay for GM and non-GM products, there is disagreement in the scientific community about the size of consumer benefits from GM labeling. In this article we use a theoretical model based on a standard constant elasticity of substitution (CES) to explain the importance of the quality effect. It is shown that failing to consider the quality effect may yield an overestimation of benefits from GM labeling, voluntary or mandatory.     

加工农产品的附加值来自哪里——消费偏好视角的分析

从消费者偏好的视角,探究加工农产品的附加值来源,能够为中国农产品加工业发展提供关键信息。以果汁产品为例,本文采用选择实验法实证分析了消费者对产品类型、品牌地、加工地、原料产地和转基因等产品属性的偏好与支付意愿。研究结果表明,产品类型和非转基因是果汁产品附加值提升的关键,品牌和原料的原产国也有助于实现加工农产品的附加值;消费偏好具有显著的异质性特征,针对不同消费群体的产品质量设计有助于实现加工农产品的附加值。因此,政府产业政策部门和农产品加工企业可以通过调整产品类型和加贴非转基因标签,来提升中国加工农产品的附加值。同时,通过政府或行业协会实施品牌和原料的原产国公共推广政策、维护和塑造原产地正面形象,也能够有效提升附加值。     

Genetically Modified Crops: Their Market and Welfare Impacts

A framework is developed for examining price and welfare effects of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) products. In the short run, non-GM grain generally becomes another identity-preserved product. However, more profound market effects are observed under some reasonable parameterizations. When calibrated to reflect the U.S. corn market, introducing GM technology increases aggregate welfare over a wide range of scenarios, unless the corresponding production cost savings are small and consumers are seriously concerned about GM products. The possibility that GM technology may reduce aggregate welfare is interesting because the model assumes rational agents and does not include regulatory constraints.     

EU and US Regulations for Handling and Transporting Genetically Modified Grains: Are Both Positions Correct?

Differences in the way GM grains are treated in the US and the EU motivate the question of whether there is a single correct policy towards identification of such products. This issue is addressed here, based on a mathematical model that assumes that the cost of maintaining identity on non-GM markets is borne by the non-GM industry. The economic welfare impacts of introducing GM technology depend on the levels of consumer concern and production cost savings, and the cost of maintaining non-GM grain identity. The introduction of a new cost-reducing GM technology often increases total welfare as one might expect. However, society loses when GM production cost-savings are small and consumers are highly concerned about GM grain because introducing GM technology creates a need to preserve the identity of non-GM grain. Taken together, the results suggest that the US may have maximized welfare by not requiring labeling of GM corn and soybeans, and that the recently approved EU legislation enforcing labeling of GM crops also makes sense in the EU. The reason for this is that consumer concern in the EU appears to be greater than in the US, and fewer EU producers stand to benefit from cost savings in GM corn and soybean production.     

Costs and Risks of Testing and Segregating Genetically Modified Wheat

Development of genetically modified (GM) crops is challenging the functions of the grain marketing system. A stochastic optimization model was developed in this study to determine optimal testing strategies. The model chooses the optimal testing strategy that maximizes utility (minimizes disutility) of additional system costs due to testing and rejection, and allows the estimation of the risk premium required for sellers to undertake the dual marketing of GM and non-GM segregations over a non-GM system. Costs are estimated for a vertically integrated grain export chain including testing, rejection, and a risk premium. The model includes elements of costs and risks of adventitious commingling at all stages of the marketing chain, variety declaration, grower truth-telling, and accuracy of testing technologies. Sensitivities were evaluated for the effects of GM adoption, risk parameters, variety declaration, and tolerance levels.     

基于供给侧改革的森林生态标志产品研究

在深入分析森林生态标志产品的概念和内涵特征的基础上,探讨了其在国内外的定位和标准体系构建等问题。在供给侧改革的背景下,分析了森林生态标志产品对林业供给侧改革的3个方面影响:优化林业产业结构、加快林业现代化建设以及扩大有效和中高端供给。最后,在理论和实践依据上,建议将森林生态标志产品种类确定为五大类:森林食品、森林药品、森林用品、木材类产品、森林游乐类。     

Innovation and Trade with Endogenous Market Failure: The Case of Genetically Modified Products

A partial-equilibrium, two-country model is developed to analyze implications from the introduction of genetically modified (GM) products. In the model, innovators hold proprietary rights, farmers are (competitive) adopters, some consumers deem GM food to be inferior in quality to traditional food, and the mere introduction of GM crops affects the costs of non-GM food (because of costly identity preservation). Among the results derived, it is shown that, although GM innovations have the potential to improve efficiency, some groups can be made worse off. Indeed, it is even possible that the costs induced by GM innovations outweigh the efficiency gains.     

超高效液相色谱-质谱法同时测定水产品中硝基呋喃类代谢物、孔雀石绿及氯霉素残留量的方法验证

为提高检测效率,本实验室验证了北京六角体科技发展有限公司生产的水产品中孔雀石绿、硝基呋喃类代谢物、氯霉素前处理试剂盒的适用性.本文主要从产品适用范围、标准曲线、线性相关系数、检测灵敏度、精密度及方法回收率进行验证.通过验证发现,本产品的适用范围、标准曲线、线性相关系数、检测灵敏度、检测精密度及方法回收率均满足对应检测标...     

Strategic response to GMOs by GM-free countries

This article examines the dilemma of a large exporting countryof an agricultural product that has to determine whether ornot to approve genetically modified (GM) products with or withouta labelling regime. We derive two main results. First, the approvaldecision on GM products is specific to the labelling regime:approval of GM products is optimal under a labelling regime,whereas non-approval is optimal in the absence of a mandatorylabelling requirement. Second, the inability to protect theinnovator's rent through IPR enforcement can prevent the approvalof GM products.     

论农产品质量安全检测实验室的规划设计与建设使用

目前,农产品质量安全是民生大问题,是大众健康、饮食安全的基本保障,已受到社会各界的广泛关注和重视。农产品质量安全的整个检测过程多在实验室内进行,因此要特别重视对农产品质量安全检测实验室的建设。为了提高检测效率和质量,在实践中,应制定、落实和应用符合实际要求的检测体系,这对农产品质量安全检测质量具有非常重要的影响和作用,也是保证检测结果准确性和重现性的前提条件。文章主要对农产品质量安全检测实验室的规划、设计、建设及建成后的使用维护进行阐述,以供参考。     

Balancing productivity and trade objectives in a competing environment: should India commercialize GM rice with or without China?

India is considering approving genetically modified (GM) rice, but it fears losing rice exports to sensitive countries with import regulations on GM food, and may wait for China to lead the way. Using a multiregion, computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, we simulate the economic effects of introducing GM rice in India with or without China in the presence of labeling and import approval regulations of GM food in GM sensitive importing countries. We find that the welfare gains with GM rice in India would largely exceed any potential export loss, and that the segregation of non-GM rice could help reduce these minor losses. We also find no significant first mover advantage for India or China on GM rice. The opportunity cost of segregation of non-GM rice is much larger for sensitive importers than for India, which suggests that these importers would have the incentive to pay for the cost of segregation.     

Contracting Institutions,Agro‐food Trade and Product Quality

The agro‐food sector has experienced a profound transformation of contractual arrangements along the value chain, coinciding with important technological innovations and product quality upgrading. Our understanding of the impact that this transformation has had on trade flows in the agricultural sector is very limited. In particular, we have limited knowledge about the extent to which the patterns in agro‐food trade have been driven by the quality of contractual institutions. Using existing measures which capture the sensitivity of agro‐food products to contractual imperfections, we show that countries with better contract enforcement specialise in the production of food which requires higher level of relationship‐specific investments. We also find that countries with better contracting institutions and producing contract‐intensive goods specialise in exporting high quality foods. In addition, we show that the quality of contracting institutions might importantly affect the process of product quality upgrading.     

Food Beliefs: Elicitation,Estimation and Implications for Labeling Policy

We present a model in which consumers use product attributes (or labels) and their own beliefs to form expectations about the quality of a product. We use best–worst scaling to elicit beliefs, and study how information may influence these beliefs. In our ranking experiments, participants sort different milk products according to (perceived) nutritional or environmental quality, and we use the resulting choice data to recover beliefs econometrically. In a nutritional quality experiment, we measure how food labels (i.e. front‐of‐package, back‐of‐package and ratio of recommended to restricted nutrients) alter consumers’ beliefs, finding that truthful attribute information may sometimes mislead consumers. The discussion explains how similar experiments could be used to distinguish informative labels from marketing messages.     

Product quality and value from consumer perspective—An application to wooden products

Product quality as perceived by consumers is studied with the use of empirical survey data on wooden flooring/panelling materials and on wooden furniture markets in Finland. The results indicate that consumers’ quality perceptions are consistent for the two product categories. Perceived product quality may be understood as a hierarchical structure, which consists of tangible and intangible dimensions, and is fairly consistent for different products. The most abstract dimensions are reflected in more specific sub-dimensions and product attributes. For consumers, the quality of the tangible product is more important than the quality of the product intangibles in the case of wooden products. Perceived product value is determined as customers’ judgement of the relationship between perceived product quality and price. It was also observed to be a two-dimensional structure with tangible and intangible dimensions. The observed dimensions of perceived product quality and value were logically linked.     

How can trade partners be chosen when facing food scandals? China's milk scandal as a natural experiment

Using China's milk scandal as a natural experiment, this paper explores whether the countries of origin and export destinations have the same responses to the original country's food scandal. Our difference-in-difference estimation shows that the outbreak of China's milk scandal had asymmetric impacts on China's total imports (increased by 23.4%) and exports (sharply dropped by 65.8%). The results further show that China's milk scandal contributed to import increases from European and Oceanian countries. Moreover, China's milk scandal worsened exports, mainly those going to neighbouring Asian regions but increased exports to Oceania. A product quality index is constructed to explain this finding. Intuitively, consumers' perceived quality of Chinese products declined, and they tended to consume products from other countries. The lower the product quality was with those in China, the lower the perceived quality and safety, thereby affecting demand. During the scandal, Chinese consumers tended to buy high-quality dairy products from Europe and Oceania rather than the perceived unreliable dairy products produced by China or neighbouring countries. We conclude that product quality plays a key role in imports and exports when facing food scandals.     

中国出口人造板产品质量及其影响因素研究

基于1998—2017年中国人造板产品贸易相关数据,运用并修正HallakSchott模型,测算中国出口人造板产品质量。建立回归模型,实证分析中国出口人造板产品质量的影响因素。结果表明:中国出口人造板产品质量稳步上升,但质量水平仍然较低,且增速较慢,存在较大的上升空间;人均工资对中国出口人造板产品质量具有显著的正向影响;出口贸易壁垒和进口贸易壁垒对中国出口人造板产品质量具有显著的负向影响。最后,提出规范人造板产品出口市场,适当提高进入门槛和产品质量标准;合理配置核心竞争要素,推动行业升级的建议。     

河南省农产品质量安全可追溯体系建设研究

建立农产品质量监测系统是一项利国利民的重要举措,旨在促进农产品供应方面的结构体系改革,并建立农产品质量监测机制。建设农产品质量安全可追溯体系,对于政府来说可以加强对农产品安全的监控能力,对于农户来说可以提高履行生产和经营的责任,对于消费者来说可以增强消费者对农产品消费的信心。本文详细介绍了河南省农产品质量安全可追溯体系建设的情况,分析了农产品质量安全可追溯体系存在的问题,提出了进一步增强全社会对农产品质量安全的认识、监督各级监管制度的建设和执行情况,以及加强可追溯体系建设和宣传教育工作等相关措施。     

Geographical Indications and the Competitive Provision of Quality in Agricultural Markets

The economics of geographical indications (GIs) is assessed within a vertical product differentiation framework that is consistent with the competitive structure of agriculture. It is assumed that certification costs are needed for GIs to serve as (collective) credible quality certification devices, and production of high-quality product is endogenously determined. We find that GIs can support a competitive provision of quality and lead to clear welfare gains, although they fall short of delivering the (constrained) first best. The main beneficiaries are consumers. Producers may also accrue some benefit if production of the high-quality products draws on scarce factors that they own.     

我国农业高质量发展的机遇、问题及对策研究

[目的]农业高质量发展对于促进农业全面升级、农村全面进步、农民全面发展具有重要意义。[方法]文章采用文献研究法发现,当前,我国农业高质量发展的基础更加坚实,农业高质量发展应更加注重资源节约、更加注重环境友好、更加注重农产品质量、更加注重增加农民收入。[结果]我国农业高质量发展既面临着政策环境更加优越、市场空间更加宽广、创新驱动更加有力、内生动力更加强劲的大好机遇,但也面临着资源条件和生态环境两个"紧箍咒"对农业约束趋紧、农业产业结构亟待优化、农产品结构不尽合理、农产品质量安全水平亟需提升、农业特色优势产业不明晰、农产品区域品牌建设缓慢、农业现代物流业建设滞后等问题。[结论]应从加强顶层设计、推进农业绿色发展、大力优化农业产业结构、加快调整农产品供给结构、着力提升农产品质量安全水平、加快培育特色优势产业、推进农产品区域品牌建设、打造现代农业物流体系等方面推动农业高质量发展,不断满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要。     

Market and Welfare Effects of Second-Generation, Consumer-Oriented GM Products

We examine the economic effects of the introduction of consumer-oriented genetically modified (GM) products into the food system by developing a model of heterogeneous consumers and producers that allows for vertical and horizontal differentiation between the products available to consumers. The model facilitates the estimation of consumer and producer surpluses in the product/utility and product/net returns spaces. Results show that the introduction of consumer-oriented GM products can change the relationship between GM and conventional and organic products from one of vertical to one of horizontal product differentiation and can enhance both economic welfare and the market acceptance and growth of agricultural biotechnology.