Meat marketing in Burkina Faso after the devaluation of the FCFA: Insights into the functioning of informal market systems

The strategies that participants in informal African markets adopt in response to shocks have rarely been analysed, yet these can provide important insights into how such markets function. Policy advice often seeks to modernise trading practices within such markets so as to improve efficiency. However, efforts to improve efficiency could have undesirable consequences if the current functioning of the markets is inadequately understood. In Burkina Faso, the FCFA devaluation in 1994 led to increasing livestock exports and a subsequent meat shortage on the domestic market. Based on market statistics from Burkina Faso and household interviews, the study investigates the status of meat consumption before and up to four years after the devaluation. Results indicate that the price increase for cattle was only transmitted to consumers after a time lag. Meat is more frequently sold in little heaps than on a weight basis. Lower per-kg prices of smaller size heaps imply an income gain for poorer consumers. Butchers use all edible body parts in addition to the carcass (i.e. head, hoofs, intestines) to buffer price fluctuations and to cope with the consumers’ notion of a fixed nominal price. This suggests that butchers and their clients are embedded in networks of what [S. Plattner, 1989. Economic behavior in markets. In: Plattner S. (Ed.), Economic anthropology, Stanford, pp. 209–222.] called equilibrating economic relations, which are favoured by the perishable nature of meat. Selling live animals or meat by weight is often considered as a measure to increase transparency within informal markets. However, the introduction of formalized or standardized marketing measures alone, without lowering the transaction costs of other components of the value chain, risks undermining the equilibrating social relationships that play an important role particularly for the poorer market actors, and thereby disadvantaging vulnerable population groups.     

A model of West African millet prices in rural markets

In this article we specify a model of millet prices in the three West African countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. Using data obtained from USAID’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) we present a unique regional millet price forecasting model that takes advantage of the panel nature of our data and accounts for the distance of rural markets from capital cities. Another novel aspect of our analysis is our use of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to detect and control for variation in conditions for productivity. We find that including NDVI information significantly improves price forecasts.     

Financial inclusion,mobile money,and individual welfare: The case of Burkina Faso

Access to financial services promotes investment and facilitates consumption smoothing by enhancing resource mobilization. Over 60 percent of Burkinabe adults are excluded from financial services by banks and other nonbank financial institutions, so mobile money is expected to bridge this gap. Accounting for the importance of financial inclusion with the rapid prevalence of mobile money, this paper assesses the effects of financial inclusion and mobile money use on an individual's nonmonetary welfare in Burkina Faso by applying matching methods. The results confirm the significant role of financial inclusion in alleviating poverty. More importantly, our analysis shows that once individuals access financial services through mobile money, such favorable effects on poverty alleviation become more substantial. Financial regulators in Burkina Faso should promote financial inclusion with mobile money to ensure the efficient enhancement of individual welfare with poverty reduction.     

Comparison Between Uniform Tariff and Progressive Consumption Tax in the Chinese Automobile Industry*

This paper studies the protectionist effect of a non-trade policy — a consumption tax — compared to that of a tariff on the Chinese automobile market. Our empirical findings suggest that both the consumption tax and the tariff can protect domestic automakers’ market shares, but they can only shift a small portion of demand from imported cars to domestic cars. This demand exclusion is caused by the weak substitution between imported cars and domestic cars, and it is the underlying reason for the welfare loss caused by both the tariff and the consumption tax. A change in the consumption tax favorable to domestic manufacturers is equivalent to an additional 28% tariff, beyond the explicit 25% tariff, in terms of its protective effect on domestic manufacturers’ market shares.     

Trade subsidies,export bans and price stabilization: Lessons of Bangladesh–India rice trade in the 2000s

During the world food price crisis of 2007–08, rice importing countries suffered through a sharp increase in international rice prices and disruptions in supply as several rice exporters restricted trade to mitigate their domestic price increases. Perhaps no country was more affected by these disruptions than Bangladesh. Our analysis shows that prior to the 2007 crisis, when Bangladesh imported an average of nearly 1 million tons of rice per year from India, domestic wholesale prices of rice in Bangladesh were co-integrated with import parity prices of subsidized Below Poverty Line (BPL) rice. When in mid-2007, India sharply curtailed exports, rice prices surged in Bangladesh.Model simulations show that a relatively small increase in private consumer stocks equivalent to about 2 weeks of normal consumption could account for the large surge in domestic prices in Bangladesh and that an additional 300,000 tons (in addition to approximately 700,000 tons of net rice distribution that actually occurred) would have been sufficient to stabilize prices in the November 2007–April 2008 period. The Bangladesh analysis thus shows that in spite of the uncertainty in international markets, careful planning, timely interventions and openness to trade can substantially reduce requirements for public stockholding.     

Vulnerability to stunting in the West African Sahel

This paper presents a simple simulation framework for understanding and analyzing vulnerability to stunting. We utilize Demographic and Health Surveys merged with satellite data on climatic shocks. Children aged 0–5 years are grouped into three categories: consistently stunted, vulnerable, and non-vulnerable. The first group constitutes those who are stunted and will also be stunted in any hypothetical period. Non-vulnerable are those whose likelihood to be stunted is zero. The vulnerable face a probability between 0 and 1 of being stunted. The probability is calculated as the share of years in which the child would be stunted, given the village level distribution of weather shocks over the period 2000–2013. We provide estimates of vulnerability to stunting in Burkina Faso, Northern Ghana, Mali, Northern Nigeria, and Senegal by aggregating over villages, districts and countries.     

2008年中国沥青市场回顾与2009年展望

2008年,中国沥青总产量约为848万吨,同比减少88万吨,降幅为9.4%;净进口量为320万吨,同比降低10%;表观消费量为1168万吨,同比减少124万吨,降幅为9.6%.2008年国内沥青价格和进口沥青价格随着国际原油价格大起大落,下半年价格急剧下滑.2009年,在国家为拉动内需大力支持交通基础设施建设的利好政策推动下,我国的公路建设将迎来新一轮的发展高潮,预计2009年国内沥青市场需求量同比将有较大幅度的增长,需求总量约为1428万～1596万吨.沥青的销售价格在经过第一季度的低位盘整期后,有望在二、三季度回升到一定高度,四季度可能有所回落或维持在相对合理的位置.     

Price policy and food consumption in urban Mali

This study investigates the food consumption patterns of different income classes in urban areas of Mali in order to assess the probable effects on dietary adequacy of the expected increase in the consumer price of rice brought about by food policy reform, initiated in 1981. The results are to a degree counterintuitive, demonstrating that understanding consumption patterns and their determinants is critical to informed policy making.     

Cereal shortages and adjustment in the Sahel

In spite of insufficient agricultural and demographic statistics for this region of Africa, several estimates of cereal production per head suggest that the average harvest in these arid zones provides slightly less than the quantity needed for domestic consumption. Alarmed by the drought of 1968–1973 and the resulting famine of 1973,¹ the development agencies questioned the capacity of the Sahel countries to feed their populations. ‘Is self-sufficiency in food a realistic objective?’, asked Robert Hirsch at the Noakchott Colloquium.² Statistical analysis leads to the conclusion that improvement is technically possible, and that the eight countries of CILSS, as a whole, should be able to achieve self-sufficiency in millet, sorghum and maize. However, certain individual countries will not be able to meet domestic needs. Moreover, Hirsch states that urban demand is increasing for corn and rice, which are difficult to produce locally and costly to import. (CILSS is the Comité Inter-états de Lutte contre la Sécheresse au Sahel).     

Westernization of Asian diets and the transformation of food systems: Implications for research and policy

Rapid economic and income growth, urbanization, and globalization are leading to a dramatic shift of Asian diets away from staples and increasingly towards livestock and dairy products, vegetables and fruit, and fats and oils. While the diversification of diets away from the traditional dominance of rice with rising incomes is expected and observed, current food consumption patterns are showing signs of convergence towards a Western diet. The diet transition is characterized by increased consumption of: wheat; temperate fruit and vegetables and high protein and energy dense food. Globalization and the consequent global interconnectedness of the urban middle class, is the driving force behind the convergence of diets. The rapid spread of global supermarket chains and fast food restaurants is reinforcing the above trends.     

Domestic and international impacts of the rice trade policy reform in the Philippines

Faced with high domestic rice prices that have fueled inflation above the 2018 target and penalized poor consumers the most, the government of the Philippines has decided to abandon the quantitative restrictions on imports and replace them with tariffs. This paper uses a global rice model based on a partial equilibrium framework to assess the possible impacts of this reform on imports, production, consumption and prices. In contrast with past similar studies, we address three key concerns (i) the heterogeneity in farm price across 16 regions in response to the combined effect of the tarriffication and the average historical trend in productivity increase at 1.5% between 2001 and 2018, (ii) the differentiation of imports by origin partly due to the different tariffs applied to countries within and beyond the Association of South East Asian Nations, and (iii) the effect on domestic prices in third countries. The simulation results suggest that the reform would increase imports by 2.47 million tons (20.7%) in 2019. We also find a large decline in farm prices and retail prices respectively by PhP 6.1/kg (30.1%) and PhP 7.6/kg (17.4%) in 2019 that explains an increase in rice consumption. We estimate the fall in total inflation at 1.2% in 2019 but less over time. Further, the large fall in farm prices in 2019 is shared quite evenly among regions in the short term but returns to pre-reform levels in the near term. Using a higher price elasticity of supply for one region obtained from panel data surveys, we show a more pronounced decline in production than the national average. Such differentiated results confirm the relevance of using a regionally disaggregated model to design more targeted policies. We also show a slight increase in world prices, which led to small increases in the domestic prices of South and Southeast Asian rice markets. While this reform is largely pro-poor consumers, policy makers would need to use the additional tariff revenue to help rice growers either increase their competitiveness and modernize their rice production or shift to other crops.     

Food security implications of staple food substitution in Sahelian West Africa

Low-income households in Sahelian West Africa face multiple shocks that risk compressing their already-low food consumption levels. This paper develops a multi-market simulation model to evaluate the impact of common production and world-price shocks on food consumption of vulnerable groups in Sahelian West Africa. Empirical analysis confirms that poor households bear the brunt of ensuing consumption risks, particularly in closed markets, where trade barriers restrict imports, and the poor find themselves in a bidding war with richer consumers for limited food supplies. In the absence of trade, a drought that reduces domestic rainfed cereal production by 20% would compress already low calorie consumption of the rural poor by as much as 15%, four times as much as other household groups. Conversely, a 50% spike in world rice prices hits the urban poor hardest, compressing calorie consumption by up to 8%.Policy responses need to focus on two basic mechanisms that can help to moderate this pressure – consumer substitution among staple foods and trade. Immediately south of the Sahel, coastal West African countries enjoy higher rainfall, dual rainy seasons, more stable staple food production based on root crops (cassava and yams) as well as frequent double cropping of maize.Our simulation results suggest that regional trade in maize, yams and cassava-based prepared foods like gari and attieké could fill over one-third of the consumption shortfall resulting from a major drought in the Sahel. Increasing substitutability across starchy staples, for example through expansion of maize, cassava and sorghum-based convenience foods, would further moderate consumption pressure by expanding the array of food alternatives and hence supply responses available during periods of stress.     

National grain policies: The international dimension

Government intervention in the pricing and marketing of grains has led to increased use of restrictive trade practices to preserve domestic price levels and ensure orderly marketing of domestically produced and imported grain. The author examines this relationship between domestic agricultural and trade policies of a selected group of grain importing and exporting countries. The article suggests that, because of the strong link between domestic and trade policies, it will be difficult to reduce trade restrictions in international grain markets in future trade negotiations.     

Status of development,regulation and adoption of GM agriculture in Africa: Views and positions of stakeholder groups

The use of genetically modified (GM) crop technology in tackling food security problems and poverty reduction in Africa continues to generate debates over its benefits and safety. Only four countries, South Africa, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Egypt have commercialized GM crops in Africa but controversy surrounds current cultivation of GM maize in Egypt. Our study provides new perspectives on the status, development and regulation of GM crops through examining the views of 305 stakeholders in six African countries across four regions: South Africa, Kenya (East Africa), Egypt and Tunisia (North Africa), Ghana and Nigeria (West Africa), supplemented by interviews with relevant international organizations. The study revealed the challenges leading to the development of biosafety regulatory frameworks and the role of individual stakeholders in the facilitation of GM crops across African countries. This study also revealed that some countries may go through a Fiber–Feed–Food (F3) approach to adopt GM crops where Bt cotton will be adopted first followed by GM crops for livestock feed while undergoing all the necessary assessments before producing GM foods for human consumption. An overwhelming majority of stakeholders placed emphasis on risk analysis (risk assessment and management) in view of limited capacity, lack of scientific expertise and public concern, and encouraged a centralized approach to risk assessment similar to the European Union model of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).     

Will they buy it? The potential for marketing organic vegetables in the food vending sector to strengthen vegetable safety: A choice experiment study in three West African cities

Considering the hazardous use of synthetic pesticides in vegetable production in urban West Africa, this research investigated the marketing potential of organic vegetables in the food vending sector of Cotonou (Benin), Accra (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Certified organic production and marketing was examined as a potential strategy to improve chemical food safety. A stratified random sampling strategy was applied to study the preferences of food vendors (n = 180) and consumers (n = 360); vegetable use, risk perception, choice preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for organic certification were specifically analyzed. The results showed that awareness of chemical contamination risks was generally low. Appearance of a product was central to vendor choice; consumers attributed similar utility to taste and organic certification. Consumer WTP was calculated to be a premium of 1.04 USD (per plate) if the food served contained only certified organic vegetables. In restaurants, this would mean an average premium of 19% for a meal. If certified organic vegetable production is to make a positive impact on food safety in urban West Africa, we suggest concentrating marketing efforts on the educated “elite” who frequent restaurants. However, considering that restaurant owners exhibited a lower preference for organic certification than lower class food vendors, the marketing situation is difficult. We therefore conclude that demand from the food vending sector alone will not institutionalize domestic certification mechanisms; this underlines the need for public commitment to facilitating such change.     

中国实施天然气能量计量与计价的基础条件分析

天然气按能量计量与计价已成为目前国际上最流行的天然气贸易和消费计量与结算方式。随着进口天然气的大量引进以及我国天然气供应系统的复杂化,我国对于天然气按体积计量和计价的方式将难以协调国产气与进口气贸易结算问题,难以适应多气源、多类型、多路径联网供气的天然气销售格局,难以解决天然气价值扭曲问题。因此,实行天然气按能量计量和计价在我国已经迫在眉睫。目前,我国实施天然气按能量计量和计价的技术标准基本具备、技术设备配置基本符合要求、发热量量值溯源技术体系也基本满足要求。相关单位已持续开展多项前期研究与模拟试验,企业与用户普遍赞同实施能量计价。未来更多的是需要国家进一步完善相关的实施标准,建立更高水平的天然气量值溯源体系,建立天然气质量监督体系,出台合理的天然气能量价格政策,支持和引导天然气实施能量计量和计价。     

Local impacts of a global crisis: Food price transmission,consumer welfare and poverty in Ghana

This paper takes a local perspective on global food price shocks by analyzing food price transmission between regional markets in Ghana. It also assesses the impacts of food price increases on various household groups. Taking the 2007–2008 global food crisis as an example, we show that prices for domestic grain products are highly correlated with world market prices. This is true both for products for which Ghana is highly import-dependent (e.g., rice) and the products for which Ghana is self-sufficient (e.g., maize). The econometric results also show that price transmission is high between regional producer markets and markets located in the country’s largest cities, and the distance between producer and consumer markets and the size of consumer markets matter in explaining the price transmission. The welfare analysis for households as consumers shows that the effect of world food prices appears relatively modest for the country as a whole due to relatively diverse consumption patterns within country. However, the national average hides important regional differences, both between regions and within different income groups. We find that the poorest of the poor—particularly those living in the urban areas—are hardest hit by high food prices. The negative effect of the food crisis is particularly strong in northern Ghana. The main explanations for this regional variation in the price effect is the different consumption patterns and much lower per capita income levels in the North of Ghana compared to other regions in the country.     

Rising trends and variability of rice prices: Threats and opportunities for sub-Saharan Africa

Nearly 40% of the rice consumed in Africa is imported. That is about one third of all rice traded in world markets. With such high dependence on imports, Africa is highly exposed to international market shocks with sometimes grave consequences for its food security and political stability as attested by events during the 2008 food crisis. In this paper, it is argued that Africa can turn the rising trends in world markets to a historical opportunity to realize its large potential for rice production. After a review of the policy responses of African countries to the 2008 global rice crisis, the opportunities and challenges for enhancing domestic rice supply are discussed. The competitiveness of rice production in Africa is analyzed for selected countries and rice ecologies. The potential for increasing paddy production is illustrated using a spreadsheet simulation that considers alternative rice sector development scenarios. Reducing the yield gap and expanding cultivated rice areas under lowland and irrigated hold the greatest potential for substantially increasing paddy production in Africa.     

Wheat in the world food economy: Increasing role in developing countries

Wheat is the oldest and most important of the cereal grains in world food supply. In the last two decades the role of wheat in the world food economy has increased substantially, especially in the developing world. This article describes and analyses the role of wheat and highlights and interprets changes that have occurred in the last two decades of rapid change. The authors analyse, in turn, trends in production, consumption, trade and prices with special emphasis on the developing countries.¹ Finally, the authors speculate on how these trends are likely to be effected by future events.     

Implications of rice policies for farmers: Selected South East Asian countries

Varying levels of rice selfsufficiency have been reached by the agriculture-based economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The author reviews the major agricultural policies adopted by these countries to provide adequate rice for their domestic populations. While rice production has increased, the distribution of its benefits has been poor. The need to continue rice consumption subsidies is questioned, particularly in cases when they do not benefit the target groups of poor for which they were originally intended. The author proposes a re-examination of policies, emphasizing the need to strengthen development efforts to promote both the production and consumption of other staple food crops.