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Agribusiness

Impact factor: 0.763 5-Year impact factor: 0.806 Print ISSN: 0742-4477 Online ISSN: 1520-6297 Publisher: Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)

Subject: Economics

Most recent papers:

  • Efficiency of Egyptian organic agriculture: A local maximum likelihood approach.
    Bouali Guesmi, Teresa Serra, Amr Radwan, José María Gil.
    Agribusiness. September 20, 2017
    Productive efficiency analysis is a relevant tool that can be used to evaluate differences in the performance between conventional and organic farms. Such study is important for the assessment of the economic viability of these two agricultural systems. Although the existing research has widely used the stochastic frontier methodology and the data envelopment analysis nonparametric approach to assess farming performance, the use of the local maximum likelihood (LML) approach proposed by Kumbhakar et al. is scarce. This study represents the first analysis that compares the efficiency levels of organic and conventional farms in Egypt. To do so, we apply LML methods to cross‐sectional, farm‐level data collected from a sample of 60 Egyptian farms. Results suggest that performance of organic farmers is slightly better than performance of their conventional counterparts. Further, we find a positive relationship between technical efficiency and farm size. [EconLit citations: C14, Q12, D24].
    September 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21520   open full text
  • Genetically modified labeling: The role of consumers’ trust and personality.
    Karen Lewis DeLong, Carola Grebitus.
    Agribusiness. September 14, 2017
    Despite the USDA’s genetically modified (GM) regulatory approval process, many U.S. consumers still want GM foods labeled. Therefore, this research identifies how individuals’ trust in the ability of institutions to ensure the safety of food, their personality, and their demographics affects their desire for GM foods to be labeled. A survey was administered to 566 consumers to elicit their desire for GM labeling of sugar and sugar in soft drinks. Results of a bivariate ordered probit model suggest that less conscientious individuals, males, and individuals who have a greater trust in food manufacturers and the government to ensure the safety of food are less likely to desire GM labeling. Cluster analysis further identified market segments of individuals based on their level of desire for GM labeling. Results are informative to policy makers and GM technology participants. [EconLit Citations: Q18]
    September 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21521   open full text
  • The economic impacts of agricultural cooperatives on smallholder farmers in rural China.
    Wanglin Ma, Awudu Abdulai.
    Agribusiness. September 14, 2017
    This paper examines the impacts of agricultural cooperative membership on output price, gross income, farm profit, and return on investment (ROI) utilizing a recent household survey data of 481 apple producers in China. We employ a treatment effects model to account for potential selection bias that arises from the fact that cooperative members and nonmembers are systematically different in terms of both observable and unobservable factors. Our analysis reveals that cooperative membership has a positive and statistically significant impact on apple price, gross income, farm profit, and ROI. In addition, we find that the highest profit effect of cooperative membership does not in fact result in the highest ROI effect of the membership, revealing differences in farm income and profitability of investment. [EconLit citations: C35, D71, Q12, Q13].
    September 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21522   open full text
  • International aggregate agricultural supply for grain and oilseed: The effects of efficiency and technological change.
    Nestor Clech, Carmen Fillat‐Castejón.
    Agribusiness. August 24, 2017
    This paper analyses the effects of the main determinants of international aggregate agricultural supply. We propose a new model that captures the farmers’ expectations through the storage approach, instead of using Nerlove's basic model. As an innovation, we add the effects of efficiency and technological change directly, thus achieving a more powerful and informative estimation than with the usual dynamic model. Moreover, we consider the effect of climate and construct a sowing and harvesting calendar for each country and each crop to measure the supply more precisely. We also analyze the effects of agricultural prices and their volatility, of commercial policy and of changes in inventories on the suppliers’ decisions. Finally, we examine the differences in these determinants depending on the level of development of the countries. [EconLit citations: Q11, Q16, Q18].
    August 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21514   open full text
  • Dynamic versus static inefficiency assessment of the Polish meat‐processing industry in the aftermath of the European Union integration and financial crisis.
    Magdalena Kapelko.
    Agribusiness. August 24, 2017
    This paper assesses the dynamic inefficiency of the Polish meat‐processing industry during the period between 2004 and 2012. This study employs also a comparison of dynamic with static inefficiency measures to address the importance of accounting for adjustment costs when measuring a firm's inefficiency. Dynamic and static cost inefficiencies and their decomposition into technical, allocative, and scale inefficiency are derived using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Results show that firms’ low levels of dynamic cost inefficiency are mainly due to dynamic allocative inefficiency rather than technical and scale inefficiency. The 2008 financial crisis appears to hamper firms’ dynamic technical performance, but has also a positive influence on the dynamic allocative and scale inefficiencies. We further show that the average static measures tend to underestimate all inefficiency components compared to dynamic counterparts. [EconLit citations: C61, D61, L66].
    August 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21515   open full text
  • Financial behavior of cooperatives and investor‐owned firms: An empirical analysis of the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector.
    MCarmen Martínez‐Victoria, Narciso Arcas Lario, Mariluz Maté Sánchez Val.
    Agribusiness. August 24, 2017
    A partial adjustment model was formulated to compare financial ratios between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms from a dynamic perspective. Empirical results from a sample of Spanish fruit and vegetable firms for the period between 2009 and 2012 reveal different adjustment processes of current, debt, and return on assets ratios between cooperatives and IOFs. We find significant differences between these firms, with slower adjustment rates for current and debt ratios in cooperatives. These findings may arise from the weakness associated with ownership structure in cooperatives, which reduces their adjustment processes compared to those of IOFs. The identification of differences in adjustment processes between cooperatives and IOFs may provide us with additional information regarding the specific management characteristics of these agri‐food firms, thus identifying those firms that are most dependent on external market conditions. [EconLit citations: C33, G30, Q13].
    August 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21513   open full text
  • Economic feasibility of Campylobacter‐reduced chicken: Do consumers have high willingness to pay?
    Yukichika Kawata, Masahide Watanabe.
    Agribusiness. June 23, 2017
    We apply a choice experiment to estimate additional willingness to pay for Campylobacter‐reduced chicken compared with normal chicken. We select Japanese consumers as an example because Japan is the world's largest chicken importer. The additional willingness to pay is estimated to be 38.87 JPY (about 0.39 USD)/150 g (when food poisoning levels reduced from 1/500 to 1/1,000) and 80.29 JPY (about 0.80 USD)/150 g (1/2,000). These values are high enough to cover additional associated costs, implying that producers’ spontaneous provision of Campylobacter‐reduced chicken is feasible. Our study is the first to confirm this fact. In addition, we elucidate consumers’ characteristics that push up additional willingness to pay, thereby drawing useful implications for promoting safer chicken. Good progress in providing safer chicken in Japan would create more global business opportunities for companies and might trigger expansion of pathogen‐reduced table meat worldwide. [EconLit citations: Q13, Q18]
    June 23, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21512   open full text
  • If you brew it, who will come? Market segments in the U.S. beer market.
    Trey Malone, Jayson L. Lusk.
    Agribusiness. June 13, 2017
    This article uses data collected from a large number of representative United States beer drinkers to identify potential market segments through consumers' taste perceptions of various beer brands. We use several well‐established marketing research methods to show that distinctive segments of the beer market underlie aggregate demand for craft beer. Using exploratory factor analysis, we find that consumers tend to group beers by two underlying factors of taste. We then use cluster analysis to provide a description of how market segments are influenced by brand familiarity. Overall, this article highlights consumer heterogeneity in the modern U.S. beer market and provides an example of how one might use primary data to analyze segmentation in a growing but highly competitive market. [EconLit citations: : C83, M3, Q1]
    June 13, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21511   open full text
  • Agricultural technical education and agrochemical use by rice farmers in China.
    Ruiyao Ying, Li Zhou, Wuyang Hu, Dan Pan.
    Agribusiness. May 02, 2017
    Using participatory approaches and experimental economic methods, this paper analyzes the impacts of different types of agricultural technical education on farmers’ agrochemical use in China. Agricultural technical education is differentiated as training through a short course and additional personal guidance both offered through agricultural extension agencies. Results show that training alone may generate the desired result of reducing fertilizer usage. However, additional personal guidance does not support the intended goal of reducing the application of either fertilizer or pesticide. This study also detects technology diffusion effect in that farmers who are not offered education but are in the same village where the education programs are offered are more likely to change their behavior. Implications of this study call for better supervision and implementation of agricultural extension efforts in China. [EconLit citations: Q12, Q16, Q52]
    May 02, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21508   open full text
  • Announcement from the Publisher.

    Agribusiness. April 24, 2017
    There is no abstract available for this paper.
    April 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21510   open full text
  • Consumer preferences for pork attributes related to traceability, information certification, and origin labeling: Based on China's Jiangsu Province.
    Linhai Wu, Xiaoru Gong, Shasha Qin, Xiujuan Chen, Dian Zhu, Wuyang Hu, Qingguang Li.
    Agribusiness. April 19, 2017
    In this study, 110 consumers in Wuxi, China's Jiangsu Province were surveyed for their preferences for traceable pork in a real choice experiment. Using random parameters logit and latent class logit models, results revealed that consumers had the highest willingness to pay (WTP) for government certification of traceability information authenticity. Consumers also had higher WTP for origin labeling compared to uncertified traceability information. Moreover, traceability to slaughter and processing was viewed as a substitute for local farming labeling and complement to non‐local farming labeling. Despite the heterogeneity among consumer groups, all consumers had some positive WTP for the local farming labeling attribute of traceable pork. Therefore, it is beneficial to include origin labeling in the traceable food attribute systems during the initial construction of traceable food markets in China.
    April 19, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21509   open full text
  • The use of a hybrid latent class approach to identify consumer segments and market potential for organic products in Nigeria.
    Muhammad Bello, Awudu Abdulai.
    Agribusiness. March 08, 2017
    Using data from a hypothetical stated preference survey conducted in Nigeria, we show how the relative importance that consumers attach to organic products’ attributes varies strongly as a function of underlying attitudes. We specify a latent class structure that allows us to jointly analyze responses to stated choice and assignment to latent classes, while avoiding measurement error problems. Our results reveal that consumers are willing to pay premium for both health and environmental gains achieved through organic production systems, although their quantitative valuation is higher for the health concerns. Furthermore, we note that individuals with stronger preferences for organic products tend to attach a global value to the certification program, whereas the valuation tends to be more restrictive among respondents that prioritize the status quo option (conventional alternative). We also observe that differences in respondents’ geographic location and level of awareness of organic food production characteristics (prior to the survey) have significant impact on consumers’ choices.[EconLit citations: D12, Q13, Q18, Q56]
    March 08, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21506   open full text
  • The media impact of animal disease on the US meat demand.
    H. Holly Wang, Paul Gardner Beville.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    Consumers are sensitive to food safety problems such as the outbreak of animal diseases. This paper examined the impact on consumers’ consumption behavior from information about food safety reported in news media. Taking avian influenza outbreak as an example, we counted articles published in major newspapers in the United States between 2001 and 2009, and included variables constructed based on these counts in an Inverse Almost ideal Demand model using monthly market consumption data on chicken, duck, other poultry, beef, and pork to estimate the impact of news on actual demand of these meats. We found that U.S. consumers would reduce their poultry demand and substitute by livestock meats when such news is reported by media negatively. This effect is boundary‐unconstrained, i.e., the U.S. poultry market suffers irrespective to the country of the disease outbreak. However, the magnitude of the effect is lower if the outbreak is from overseas.
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21501   open full text
  • Consumers’ willingness to pay for edamame with a genetically modified label.
    Elijah Wolfe, Michael Popp, Claudia Bazzani, Rodolfo M. Nayga, Diana Danforth, Jennie Popp, Pengyin Chen, Han‐Seok Seo.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    Results from a sensory test of edamame, which is soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) harvested near the end of the pod filling stage, followed by a non‐hypothetical auction, and finally a questionnaire were used to determine WTP for GM labeled edamame in comparison to unlabeled and non‐GM labeled edamame. The results showed a significant price premium for non‐GM edamame even though overall sensory impression did not differ between GM and non‐GM edamame. Interestingly unlabeled and GM labeled edamame bids were similar suggesting that consumers wanted to be informed. Preconceived consumer notions appeared to play a role as did knowledge, opinion, income, and consumption frequency in subsamples of respondents. Labeling edamame is in the interest of producers as all edamame produced in the U.S. is non‐GM.
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21505   open full text
  • Influence of brand equity on the price premium for private labels in fresh produce: A contingent valuation survey.
    Kiyotaka Masuda, Shohei Kushiro.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    In recent years, premium private labels for fresh produce grown with reduced use of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers have been developed by Japanese general merchandise stores. In this paper, the brand equity factors that affect willingness to pay (WTP) for private label vegetables are identified using the contingent valuation method. We consider four key dimensions of brand equity, namely brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations. We find that brand loyalty factors based on the psychology of consumers who seek value‐added vegetables with health and safety characteristics have the largest effect on the WTP premium. Providing shoppers with clear information about the key product attributes of reduced use of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers is particularly important to generate brand equity for private label vegetables. [EconLit citations: Q130, M310].
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21498   open full text
  • Estimating the cost of pre‐harvest forward contracting corn and soybeans in Illinois before and after 2007.
    Xiaoli L. Etienne, Mindy L. Mallory, Scott H. Irwin.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    Forward contracting historically has been the principal risk management tool of crop farmers in the United States. We use pre‐harvest forward contract bids from 1977 to 2013 in Illinois to estimate the cost of forward contracting corn and soybeans. Prior to 2007, it cost 1.55% of the October spot price or 3.74 cents/bushel on average to forward contract corn at the end of February. In 2007–2013, a period of high price volatility, the average cost increased to 3.31% or 16.40 cents/bushel. In the soybean market, before 2007 the average cost was 0.77% or 6.26 cents/bushel and thereafter increased to 1.46% or 15.62 cents/bushel. Default risk does not appear to be a determinant of forward contracting cost. However, evidence suggests that the higher cash flow risk associated with volatile market prices is likely to be the main driving cause of increasing forward contracting costs observed after 2007. [EconLit citations: Q11, Q13].
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21500   open full text
  • Implications of the 2006 E. coli outbreak on spatial price transmission in the U.S. fresh spinach market.
    Samantha L. Durborow, Chanjin Chung, Seon‐woong Kim.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    A regime switching error correction model is applied to weekly shipping point and terminal market spinach prices in order to assess the spatial price transmission impact of the 2006 E. coli outbreak on the U.S. fresh spinach market. A food safety index (FSI) related to the outbreak is calculated and used as the regime switching mechanism for 11 alternative farm‐to‐wholesale spatially separated market pairs. Results suggest not all markets responded uniformly to the FSI. The majority of the markets with alternative sources of spinach exhibited nonlinearities, whereas those which were primarily supplied by California producers did not. In general, shorter adjustment speeds were seen in terminal markets that were closer in proximity to the California shipping point. Southern market pairs exhibiting threshold behavior saw increased efficiency after the outbreak (potentially due to increased self‐regulation), whereas the remaining pairs saw a loss in efficiency. [EconLit citations: C32, Q11].
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21497   open full text
  • Substituting hake with sardines? Economic crisis and fish demand in Spain.
    Ikerne del Valle, Jordi Guillen, Kepa Astorkiza.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    The main objective of this paper is to investigate the existence of an economic crisis‐induced demand shift in the Spanish fish market. This is performed by endogenously examining whether the existence of a structural break in fish price trends around 2008, corresponding to the collapse of the Spanish economy, together with an asymmetric and specific price behavior regarding the sign and magnitude of the expected income elasticities of three staple fish species (i.e., sardine, anchovy and hake). Our data corroborate not only the structural break hypothesis for rooted luxury and inferior fish species in the Spanish market but also an opposite price response after the break, which explains the increasing pressure on cheap fish demand and conversely the lower demand for expensive fish products. Results show consistency for all market levels analyzed (i.e., origin, wholesale and retail). [EconLit citations: C22, Q31].
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21499   open full text
  • Using labeled choice experiments to analyze demand structure and market position among seafood products.
    Nguyen Tien Thong, Hans Stubbe Solgaard, Wolfgang Haider, Eva Roth, Lars Ravn‐Jonsen.
    Agribusiness. February 25, 2017
    Understanding market competition and consumer preferences are important first steps in developing a business. In a competitive market, the effectiveness of the various elements of a firm's marketing mix depends not only on the absolute value of each element but also on the relative values of the elements with respect to the firm's position in the market. In this paper, we analyze the demand structure and market positions of a variety of seafood products in the French retail market. We used a labeled choice experiment to analyze 12 seafood species. The choice options were labeled by the names of the seafood, providing researchers the opportunity to analyze the competitive interactions among the species. Competitive clout and vulnerability measures were estimated for each species as summary measures of species competition. These measures were calculated from cross‐ and own‐elasticities and reveal that salmon and cod have the strongest market position, while monkfish and pangasius have the weakest. In general, the demand for seafood is moderately sensitive to price (market elasticity of −1.31). Large size and low‐income households, female consumers, people in the age range 35–44 years, and self‐employed consumers are the most sensitive to price. Four segments were identified and described in terms of both consumer characteristics and preferences. Our results are meaningful for producers and retailers to develop marketing strategies and production plans. [EconLit citations: D12, M21, Q13].
    February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21504   open full text
  • Factors Affecting Changes in Managerial Decisions.
    Joshua D. Woodard, Leslie Verteramo Chiu, Gabriel Power, Dmitry Vedenov, Steven Klose.
    Agribusiness. February 07, 2017
    It is commonly held that revealed managerial decisions depend on the interaction of risk attitudes and preferences, as well as market and firm conditions. In agriculture, production plans can have a horizon of a few months to several years. However, it is not always the case that managers follow through on their plans once established. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that contribute to changes between managers’ planned decisions and eventual actions. A unique dataset consisting of farm financial data, consultant generated production plans, and a follow‐up producer survey was constructed with participants in the Texas FARM‐Assistance program. We evaluate the effects of managers’ behavioral attributes, farm financial indicators, and production characteristics on the decision to follow through on business plans. Our findings provide new insights into the decision‐making and planning processes of managers under risky market conditions, and the interactions of same with behavioral characteristics. [EconLit citations: Q12; Q13; Q14; D22; G02].
    February 07, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21496   open full text
  • Processor Linkages and Farm Household Productivity: Evidence from Dairy Hubs in East Africa.
    Immaculate Omondi, Elizaphan J. O. Rao, Aziz A. Karimov, Isabelle Baltenweck.
    Agribusiness. February 07, 2017
    Linking smallholder farmers to large enterprises could be a powerful mechanism to improve input and output markets as well as other productivity‐enhancing services for liquidity constrained smallholders. Dairy hubs promoted by East African Dairy Development project are collective farmer‐owned milk bulking and/or chilling plants through which farmers get access to output markets and inputs as well as other services necessary for their dairy enterprises. The hubs act as a linkage between large processors and smallholder dairy farmers. They enable farmers to supply milk to large dairy processors who are emerging key players in the East African dairy industry. In addition to the different forms of linkages with large processors, these hubs also differ in their level of growth toward sustainability. In light of this background, this work aims to provide evidence on the effects, at farm level, of different types of linkages between smallholder dairy farmers and large processors through dairy hubs. The study uses cross‐sectional survey data collected from 993 smallholder livestock keeping households living within the dairy hubs’ catchment areas in Kenya and Uganda. Statistical tests on technical efficiency estimates from dairy farm enterprises were conducted in order to provide evidence of the effects of the types of processor linkages on the performance of the dairy farm enterprises. The results provide evidence of no strong influence at farm levels that can be attributed to different forms of linkages with processor that dairy hubs adopt. Moreover, though hub sustainability is directly linked to the producer organization's efficiency level, our results show that it does not sufficiently translate to more productive farmers. These findings call for concerted efforts by development agents in the dairy sector, policy makers, and even large processors to intervene in order to support improved farm performance. As evident from the study, one direct policy tool at the disposal of these agents is extension messages. [EconLit citations D24; L25; Q12].
    February 07, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21492   open full text
  • The Effects of Contract Mechanism Design and Risk Preferences on Biomass Supply for Ethanol Production.
    Kassu Wamisho Hossiso, Aaron Laporte, David Ripplinger.
    Agribusiness. January 30, 2017
    This study used a stated choice experimental survey to evaluate the effects of contract design mechanisms and farmers’ risk preferences in supplying biomass for ethanol production in a vertically coordinated biomass supply chain in Northern Plain of the United States. A rank‐ordered logit model was used to assess the effects of price‐ and quantity‐based contract mechanisms, risk preferences, and farm characteristics on ranking of contract preferences. Our empirical results show that, under price‐based contract, farmers are likely to prefer contract that set fixed price when a contract was offered over short term, however, over the long term, farmers prefer a contract item that set formula with a floor price. Under quantity‐based design mechanism, our model results illustrate that contract items that limit biomass quantity delivery requirement become less preferable even if farmers are allowed to negotiate on delivery price. In addition, farmer's risk perception factors toward engaging in marketing organization and vertically coordinated supply chains play a significant role in ranking contract preferences. [EconLit citations: D82; Q13; Q42]
    January 30, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21491   open full text
  • Coordination of Winegrape Supply Chains in Emerging Markets.
    Fabio R. Chaddad, Jason R.V. Franken, Miguel I. Gómez, R. Brent Ross.
    Agribusiness. January 30, 2017
    This study investigates factors influencing coordination of winegrape procurement in emerging wine regions in Michigan, Missouri, and New York. Wineries in these emerging regions face different vertical coordination challenges than in well‐established regions, which may affect procurement choices. Results corroborate prior findings that quality considerations and the need to safeguard investments in specialized assets, respectively, increase usage of more formal coordination mechanisms like written contracts and vertical integration or ownership. Consistent with prior findings of studies of wineries in established wine regions, we find that perceived difficulty in measuring grape quality attributes leads to tighter coordination; a point previously undocumented for emerging regions. [EconLit citation: Q130]
    January 30, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21495   open full text
  • How Much Do Consumers Value Protected Designation of Origin Certifications? Estimates of willingness to Pay for PDO Dry‐Cured Ham in Italy.
    Christian Garavaglia, Paolo Mariani.
    Agribusiness. January 25, 2017
    This study investigates consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for protected designation of origin certifications. First, the paper proposes the use of a new index in food studies to measure WTP. We focus on dry‐cured ham in Italy. Our results add a geographical dimension to studies of consumer preferences by providing evidence of the existence of differences based on place of residence. Consumers who live in the same area where certified ham is produced are willing to pay a lower premium price than consumers living farther away are willing to pay: the closer consumers live to the area of production of the certified product, the less they refer to extrinsic certification cues [EconLit citations: Q11; D12; C35].
    January 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21494   open full text
  • Technical Efficiency in Chilean Agribusiness Industry: A Metafrontier Approach.
    Sebastian Lakner, Thelma Brenes‐Muñoz, Bernhard Brümmer.
    Agribusiness. January 25, 2017
    This study models the technical efficiency in the Chilean agribusiness industry between 2001 and 2007 by taking into consideration the structural differences between the different subsectors meat, fruit & vegetables, dairy, milling, and bakery. We analyze firm data from the Annual National Industrial Survey (ENIA) totaling 2,940 observations using a stochastic frontier model combined with a metafrontier model. We observe dynamic developments in the subsectors meat, fruit & vegetables, and dairy, with a pronounced export‐orientation. We show that especially meat and fruit & vegetables firms have experienced positive technological change, whereas dairy firms are exhibiting a slight decrease in efficiency and technical change. The milling and bakery subsectors, which mainly produce for the domestic market, show a rather constant status in efficiency and technical change. The results confirm that an in‐depth analysis of subsectors is necessary to evaluate the competitiveness of the agribusiness industry in Chile. [EconLit citations: D24; Q13].
    January 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/agr.21493   open full text
  • Relationship between Children's BMI and Parents’ Preferences for Kids’ Yogurts with and without Front of Package Health Signals.
    Gregory Colson, Carola Grebitus.
    Agribusiness. November 01, 2016
    Childhood obesity has emerged as a critical national policy issue in many countries. One challenge in combating childhood obesity via induced shifts toward a healthier diet is that the majority of food consumed by younger children is purchased or prepared by someone else, i.e., a parent. Hence, it is critical to design initiatives and marketing efforts aimed at affecting parents' purchases of healthy foods for their children. In this study, we focus on the potential of front‐of‐package health labels specifically designed to signal to parents those foods that are healthy for children. We report results of a choice experiment administered to 733 parents. In the experiments, branded and unbranded yogurts marketed to children are considered with different health labels. In our analysis, we control for the child's body mass index (BMI) to assess how labels affect parents' food choices in the context of varying BMI data for the children. We also include whether parents worried about their children's eating patterns react differently to the labeling. Results from two multinomial logit models indicate that parents prefer and are more likely to purchase yogurts with a label denoting the food is a healthy choice for children. Critically, we find parents with children who are overweight or obese, and hence already in the high‐risk category due to their body weight, are most affected by the labels. Overall, results indicate that health labels can be an effective signal and marketing effort to nudge parents of overweight or obese children toward healthier food purchase. [EconLit citations: D12, I1, Q18].
    November 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21487   open full text
  • What's in a Name? The Impact of Fair Trade Claims on Product Price.
    Nicholas G. Marconi, Neal H. Hooker, Nicholas DiMarcello.
    Agribusiness. November 01, 2016
    Agribusinesses use credence claims reporting the sustainability of products and supply chains. One example, fair trade, relies on a diverse set of third party standards and certification organizations. Food marketing data are used to compare products launched between 1999 and 2013 in the coffee, tea, and chocolate categories. Out of 3,257 observations making a reference to fair trade, 2,745 were certified. The other items follow certain fair trade practices or support fair trade. Many products claim both fair trade and organic (congruent claim). Fairtrade Labeling Organizations – International (FLO‐I) certifiers dominate, but Fair Trade USA (breaking from FLO‐I in 2012) is important. A double hurdle hedonic regression model explores the relationship between claims and suggested retail price in the United States, Canada, and European Union over two periods (1999–2011 and 2012–2013). Two models are run, one aggregating non‐FLO‐I members and one accounting for each individual certifier. The models (first hurdle) are not able to identify factors explaining which products are certified. Results suggest (second hurdle) that after controlling for congruent claims, having a fair trade claim certified by certain third parties significantly raises the price (above an uncertified product). In particular FLO‐I certification leads to a higher price in all models in both periods. Conversely, there is a range of premia for non‐FLO‐I certifiers, not all statistically significant. Implications for stakeholders are advanced. [EconLit citations: D40, L15, L66].
    November 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21486   open full text
  • Information Content of USDA Rice Reports and Price Reactions of Rice Futures.
    Andrew M. McKenzie, Jessica L. Darby.
    Agribusiness. November 01, 2016
    Rice is a predominant food staple in many regions of the world, and it is important to determine how efficiently the U.S. rice market helps to ensure world food security. This question can be answered by gauging the price discovery performance of the U.S. rice futures market and the economic usefulness of the U.S. government's supply and demand forecasts. So, to this end, we employ two event study approaches: (1) to examine variability in returns on report‐release days as compared to returns on pre‐ and post‐report days, and (2) to regress price reactions on changes in usage and production information. It is found that the USDA provides the rice futures markets with valuable information and rice futures respond to the information in an economically consistent manner.
    November 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21489   open full text
  • Ornamental Plants in the United States: An Econometric Analysis of a Household‐Level Demand System.
    Vardges Hovhannisyan, Hayk Khachatryan.
    Agribusiness. October 26, 2016
    This study provides an empirical analysis of demand for a large group of ornamental plants using a theory‐based demand model. Specifically, consumer preferences are represented by the Almost Ideal Demand System where allowance is made for demand censoring. Given that revealed‐preference data are usually limited to certain ornamental plants and geographical locations, we exploit unique hypothetical purchase data collected via an online survey regarding 16 annual, perennial, and foliage plants from across the United States. The effect of various socio‐economic and demographic factors on demand for plants is quantified. Our findings indicate that ornamental plants are predominantly price‐elastic with foliage plants being more price‐responsive vis‐a‐vis other plant categories. Further, a majority of plants are expenditure‐elastic with the estimates of foliage plants manifesting the greatest variability. Finally, plants in the same category appear to be closer substitutes. Results benefit ornamental plant industry stakeholders as they determine the best pricing strategies in their specific markets.
    October 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21488   open full text
  • Measuring Oligopsony Power in the U.S. Cattle Procurement Market: Packer Concentration, Cattle Cycle, and Seasonality.
    Inbae Ji, Chanjin Chung, Jungmin Lee.
    Agribusiness. October 03, 2016
    This study estimates the oligopsony power in the U.S. cattle procurement market in consideration of market structure of beef‐packing industry, cattle supply, and seasonality. Our conceptual model represents a price‐setting monopsonist competing with multiple monopsonists, and the corresponding empirical model includes a time‐varying parameter framework so that it can trace the change in packers’ imperfect competition behavior in the cattle procurement market over time. The empirical model is applied to three cattle procurement markets in the United States: national, Nebraska, and Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico. Empirical results show the existence of oligopsony market power in the U.S. cattle procurement market. The oligopsony market power is considerably influenced by cattle cycle and seasonality, which indicates that packers tend to increase their margin during the excessive cattle supply period while maintaining lower margin during the short cattle supply period. [EconLit citations: D43, L11, L13, Q13].
    October 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21490   open full text
  • Agricultural Supply Management and Market Power: Evidence from the U.S. Dairy and Potato Industries.
    Yuliya V. Bolotova.
    Agribusiness. September 28, 2016
    Agricultural over‐supply, increasing output price volatility, and producers’ returns below production costs were the economic forces that influenced the decision of the organizations of agricultural producers in the U.S. dairy and potato industries to implement agricultural supply management programs. Using a theoretical framework, this research evaluates potential seller market power of agricultural cooperatives implementing agricultural supply management practices at the farm‐gate level. A theoretical analysis is conducted by comparing agricultural cooperatives with classic cartels. Available empirical evidence on the effects of agricultural supply management programs in the U.S. dairy and potato industries is discussed. [EconLit citations: L1, L2, Q13].
    September 28, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21485   open full text
  • Motivational Factors for Remaining in or Exiting a Cooperative.
    Lovisa Nilsson, Helena Hansson, Carl Johan Lagerkvist.
    Agribusiness. September 26, 2016
    Cooperative attributes were incorporated into a push–pull framework to explain exit/remain behavior for dairy farmers delivering to dairy cooperatives. The exit behavior meant establishing a marketing or processing operation in parallel to cooperative deliveries or the planning such an action. Scale development to measure cooperative attributes resulted in six latent variables: A need to restructure the farm business, the membership role in the cooperative, opportunity, fear of negative evaluation, self‐efficacy, and cooperative (dis)loyalty. The latent variables identified were tested against behavioral intentions in two logistic regressions where the dairy farmers’ plans for remaining or exiting the cooperative and their plans for postfarm gate entrepreneurial activities were the dependent variables. Two latent variables emerged as significant predictors: restructuring the farm business and the membership role. These predictors were push factors in the model, suggesting that dissatisfaction with delivery to existing dairy cooperatives, rather than job or life satisfaction from setting up their own business, acted as farmers’ motive to exit. These results can be used in developing communication and strategies for more viable dairy cooperatives and in understanding the incentives behind the ongoing restructuring of the dairy market from a supply perspective. [EconLit citations: Q130, J230, D810].
    September 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21480   open full text
  • Market Power in the Chinese Wine Industry.
    Qiujie Zheng, H. Holly Wang.
    Agribusiness. September 26, 2016
    With the rapid expansion of China's middle class and the increasing Western cultural influence, the wine consumption in China has experienced a remarkable growth in recent decades. A quantitative study on market power of Chinese wine firms is conducted to assess the competition structure of this industry and to provide economic insights into effective strategies for existing and prospective firms. In this paper, we employ an econometric model to estimate markups using a firm‐level dataset collected from the Chinese wine industry allowing price heterogeneity. The results suggest that there exists an oligopolistic structure in the Chinese wine industry, and geographical region has significant impact on the market power. We also provide discussions on future directions of market structure for domestic as well as multinational firms. [EconLit citations: Q13, L11, L66].
    September 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21479   open full text
  • Consumer Willingness‐to‐Pay for Genetically Modified Potatoes in Ireland: An Experimental Auction Approach.
    Fiona Thorne, John A. (Sean) Fox, Ewen Mullins, Michael Wallace.
    Agribusiness. August 11, 2016
    It is recognized that many consumers are skeptical about genetically modified (GM) foods. Yet less is known about the extent to which consumers may purchase GM food products given suitable price positioning and marketing information on nonprice attributes of the products. In this study, we examine consumer acceptance of GM late blight resistant potatoes in Ireland. Our analysis uses an experimental auction methodology that facilitates positive and negative bids to provide a more complete revelation of preferences. Results show that a majority of participants preferred conventional potatoes to GM potatoes. Favorable information about GM increased subjects’ valuations of GM potatoes. After being informed about potential economic and health benefits, up to two‐thirds of our subjects indicated that they would choose GM potatoes at a 20% price discount, while 14% of subjects would still reject GM potatoes at any price. Higher levels of education, greater familiarity with GM, and the presence of children in the household were associated with lower valuation of the GM product. [EconLit citations: C91; D12].
    August 11, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21477   open full text
  • Value‐Adding Practices in Food Supply Chain: Evidence from Indian Food Industry.
    Shashi, Rajwinder Singh, Amir Shabani.
    Agribusiness. August 08, 2016
    The study aims an attempt to realize the importance of value addition at different stages of food supply chain to see what the value addition practices mean across the food chain. To do so, this paper investigates the value addition relationships of different supply chain players from farm to retail level. Based on extensive literature review and deep discussions with supply chain practitioners as well as academicians, a conceptual framework is developed to assist those players in identifying the importance of adding value, defining a common definition of value addition practices, and getting motivation for superior value addition improvement. Value addition practices of five stages at the food supply chain, namely, farmer, supplier, processor, distributor and retailer, are conceptualized and formulated to tests the relationship among these stages. The study mainly focuses on the value addition of farm products in Indian scenario. The findings affirmed that the farmer's value addition is positively related to supplier's value addition, processor's value addition, and distributor's value addition. Moreover, supplier's value addition is positively related to processor's value addition, and processor's value addition is positively related to distributor's value addition. Besides, distributor's value addition is positively related to retailer's value addition. [JEL Classification: M210].
    August 08, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21478   open full text
  • Spatial Price Transmission and Efficiency in the Urea Market.
    Zhepeng Hu, B. Wade Brorsen.
    Agribusiness. July 12, 2016
    Urea fertilizer is widely used in the United States, however, urea is not publicly traded and formula pricing is common. This article studies spatial transmission and efficiency of urea prices in the Arkansas River‐New Orleans urea markets and the New Orleans‐Middle East urea markets. A vector error correction model (VECM) and Baulch's (1997) parity bound model (PBM) are estimated. A threshold VECM is considered, but no threshold effects are found so threshold effects are not included in the final VECM. The estimated VECM shows that violations of spatial price equilibrium are corrected faster between Arkansas River‐New Orleans prices than New Orleans‐Middle East prices. The long term adjustments to deviations from spatial equilibrium in the New Orleans‐Middle East price relationship are made through adjustments in the New Orleans price. The PBM shows that New Orleans‐Middle East price spreads are greater than transportation costs about 23% of the time. [EconLit citations: C32, Q13, R32].
    July 12, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21475   open full text
  • What Consumers Are Looking for in Strawberries: Implications from Market Segmentation Analysis.
    Jingjing Wang, Chengyan Yue, Karina Gallardo, Vicki McCracken, James Luby, Jim McFerson.
    Agribusiness. July 12, 2016
    An online choice experiment was conducted to investigate U.S. consumer preferences for attributes of fresh market strawberry fruit. Using a latent class logit model, three different groups of consumers are identified: “Balanced Consumers,” “Experience Attribute Sensitive Consumers,” and “Search Attribute Sensitive Consumers.” This information on consumer segmentation can help the fresh market strawberry industry identify target markets, and provides valuable information to breeders, growers, and retailers to prioritize fruit attributes in their breeding, growing, or product sourcing decisions.
    July 12, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21473   open full text
  • Impacts of Increased Corn Ethanol Production on Price Asymmetry and Market Linkages in Fed Cattle Markets.
    Sungill Han, Chanjin Chung, Prasanna Surathkal.
    Agribusiness. July 11, 2016
    This study compares price transmission behaviors between pre‐ and post‐EPA (Energy Policy Act) periods to investigate the impact of increased production of corn ethanol on price transmission behaviors between five regional fed cattle markets in the United States: Colorado, Iowa‐Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas‐Oklahoma. Econometric models used in this study consider potential nonlinearity and asymmetry in price transmissions using threshold autoregression and threshold error correction methods, and generalized impulse response functions. Overall, the surge of corn ethanol production after the EPA enactment appears to lead lower integration and slower price adjustment between markets, particularly between noncorn‐belt and corn‐belt markets. Our analysis also finds strong evidence of the existence of threshold effects and limited evidence of asymmetric price responses in the short and long run for both pre‐ and post‐EPA periods. [EconLit citations: C32, Q13].
    July 11, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21476   open full text
  • Retrospective Economic Analysis of Foot and Mouth Disease Eradication in the Latin American Beef Sector.
    Amanda M. Countryman, Amy D. Hagerman.
    Agribusiness. June 07, 2016
    Foot‐and‐mouth disease (FMD) damaged Latin America's beef sector through both production losses and limits to international market access in the early to mid‐2000s. Using a base year of 2001, we utilize historical FMD outbreak data and a global economic model to estimate the consequences of FMD on domestic beef production, prices and trade across markets in multiple Latin American countries. Results show that, had FMD been prevented in 2001, Latin America may have benefited from increased access to the world market but relatively small impacts may have occurred on world beef prices. Regional welfare could have improved over observed 2001 market conditions. Regionally, Uruguay may have benefited most if production losses resulting from FMD would have been mitigated. [JEL Classifications: F10; Q11; Q17].
    June 07, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21472   open full text
  • An Analysis of Past World Market Prices of Feed and Milk and Predictions for the Future.
    Bjørn Gunnar Hansen, Yushu Li.
    Agribusiness. June 06, 2016
    Understanding of price behavior is a critical element to make decisions in uncertain conditions that significantly influence the return of dairy market participants. Increased variability in both the world milk price and the world feed price during the last 7‐8 years has increased the need for research on price dynamics and price forecasting. The aims of this paper are to explore the dynamics embedded in and between the world milk and feed prices, and to produce reliable forecasts for both prices. We collected the world milk price and the world feed price series from 2002 to 2015 from the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN). The analysis revealed that the two price series contain business cycles of approximately 32 months. Further, the two series are co‐ integrated, with the feed price as the leading variable. A combination of three different forecasting models can provide reasonably good forecasts of both prices.
    June 06, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21474   open full text
  • Determinants Affecting Adoption of GLOBALG.A.P. Standards: A Choice Experiment in Thai Horticulture.
    Rattiya Suddeephong Lippe, Ulrike Grote.
    Agribusiness. May 22, 2016
    The present study employed a choice experiment to forecast the adoption of private GLOBALG.A.P. standards among Thai horticultural producers. It is based on primary data from 400 orchid and mango producers from the major production areas in Thailand. Mixed logit model estimations show that producers with higher levels of education and awareness about environmental and social requirements are more likely to adopt GLOBALG.A.P. standards. Prior experience in high‐value market channels and with public Good Agricultural Practice standards are also crucial factors that motivate producers to adopt GLOBALG.A.P. standards. However, certification costs and time needed for record keeping and training are major adoption barriers. Against this background, we propose more education and stakeholder workshops to increase the likelihood of adoption among Thai horticultural producers. The formation of regular discussion groups would allow fruitful interaction among producers and with advisors, eventually providing vital links between implementation of standards and day‐to‐day farm practices. [EconLit citation: Q13].
    May 22, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21471   open full text
  • The Choice of Local Food Products by Young Consumers: The Importance of Public and Private Attributes.
    Pilar Fernández‐Ferrín, Belén Bande, Aitor Calvo‐Turrientes, M. Mercedes Galán‐Ladero.
    Agribusiness. May 22, 2016
    In this paper, we propose an explicative model for the effective purchase of various brands of local products, incorporating private and public motivations into a causal chain and considering product availability as a possible moderator of the effects of these purchase factors on local products. The results obtained by applying conditional process analysis and a Tobit model to the responses of 195 young consumers show that local identity can have direct and/or indirect effects on the effective purchase of four different brands of local, traditional, and nontraditional products. Furthermore, for two of these brands, perceived product availability moderates the relationship between product valuation and effective purchase. [EconLit citations: C51, Q13].
    May 22, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21470   open full text
  • Asymmetry Price Transmission in the Deregulated Rice Markets in Bangladesh: Asymmetric Error Correction Model.
    Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Andrew M. McKenzie, Ismat Ara Begum, Jeroen Buysse, Eric J. Wailes, Guido Huylenbroeck.
    Agribusiness. April 15, 2016
    There is a widely held belief among public consumers that rice prices are manipulated in Bangladesh. This manipulation may have led to price asymmetry in the vertical chain of Bangladesh rice markets. This paper is an attempt to investigate the existence of asymmetry between wholesale and retail rice prices in Bangladesh. Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) based cointegration test was applied to determine long‐run equilibrium relationship. We examine whether the wholesale market dominates the retail market—in terms of price discovery and price leadership—or vice versa. Finally, we analyze whether the wholesale‐retail price relationship is asymmetric with respect to price increases and price decreases. To test the asymmetric price transmission we used the asymmetric error correction‐EG approach. Our results show that wholesale and retail prices are cointegrated, and wholesale market plays a leadership role in determining retail prices, which is in line with industrial organization theory. Our results confirm the fear and concerns of consumers about the existence of price asymmetry. [JEL Classification: Q110; Q113].
    April 15, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21461   open full text
  • Quality Choice and Market Access: Evidence from Chilean Wine Grape Production.
    Pilar A. Jano.
    Agribusiness. April 01, 2016
    This paper examines the determinants of becoming a producer of high‐quality wine grapes. We explore the case of wine‐grape farmers in Chile where we observe a bifurcation of farmer types.“Quasi‐subsistence” farmers produce traditional wine‐grape varieties and complement their subsistence income with cash coming from wine‐grape sale. On the other hand, we observe “entrepreneurial” farmers who produce classic varieties that have the potential to produce high‐quality wines. We study this bifurcation empirically using primary data collected during the 2011–2012 growing season. We find that wealth and cultivation ability provide economically and statistically significant explanatory power, but that buyer characteristics also matter. Our results suggest that a farmer's entry into the supply chain for high‐quality production is not an individual's choice. Rather it is a joint decision that cannot be fully understood without considering the objectives, incentives, and information of supplier and buyer. [EconLit citations: O14; Q140; L26].
    April 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21468   open full text
  • Agribusiness: An International Journal's First 30 Volumes.
    David D. Fleet, Michael W. Woolverton, James G. Beierlein, Ronald W. Cotterill.
    Agribusiness. April 01, 2016
    Agribusiness: An International Journal, now a well‐recognized journal in the discipline, completed its 30th year of publication in 2014. This article examines three decades of publication statistics to provide an understanding of its development and a brief look at its possible future. Thus, this is a bibliographic history of Agribusiness and a brief case study of organizational evolution.
    April 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21467   open full text
  • Temporary Sales Prices and Asymmetric Price Transmission.
    Said Tifaoui, Stephan Cramon‐Taubadel.
    Agribusiness. March 11, 2016
    We hypothesize that temporary sales might bias the results of vertical price transmission analysis towards findings of asymmetric price transmission. We test this hypothesis using a scanner dataset of retail butter prices in Germany. To this end we first use filters to identify underlying reference retail prices and thus remove temporary sales prices. We then compare estimates of vertical price transmission from the wholesale to the retail level that are generated with raw and with filtered retail prices. Our results confirm that temporary sales prices increase the speed and asymmetry of vertical price transmission. These results add a potential cause of asymmetry to those, such as market power, that have already been identified in the literature. [EconLit citations: C22; L10; Q11].
    March 11, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21465   open full text
  • CAP Reform and Price Transmission in the Italian Pasta Chain.
    Luca Cacchiarelli, Daniel Lass, Alessandro Sorrentino.
    Agribusiness. March 04, 2016
    During the last several years, wheat‐pasta chains have been affected by Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms in the durum wheat sector that have progressively reduced government intervention in the market. Specifically, the mid‐term reform, implemented in 2005, represented a deep change in the tools applied in the CAP, with a change from coupled income support to a single decoupled aid where farmers’ incomes are directly supported and are no longer linked to levels or types of production. We hypothesize that price transmission along the wheat‐pasta supply chain has been affected by CAP reform and other events through greater price volatility for durum wheat and market power exerted by some firms along the supply chain. For the present study, we are particularly interested in examining whether and how CAP reform has altered price transmission in the Italian wheat‐pasta chain, from farmer to retailer, including the wholesale stage. We employ the Kinnucan and Forker model, which provides a convenient instrument for analyzing the impact of policy intervention, and adapted its structure to the characteristics and the composition of the pasta supply chain by introducing an intermediate level (wholesale price), represented by semolina producers. The results suggest that pricing behavior has changed after CAP Reform introduction. [EconLit citations: Q110; Q130; L110].
    March 04, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21459   open full text
  • Analysis of Umbrella Branding with Crowdsourced Data.
    Timothy J. Richards.
    Agribusiness. March 02, 2016
    We test for umbrella effects among private label products using a new type of data: crowdsourced data, or data contributed by users of an in‐store shopping app for their own, and other users' benefit. We model umbrella effects in our crowdsourced data using a random‐parameter logit model with private‐label preference parameters correlated among product categories. Our results support the existence of umbrella effects in our limited sample data, where umbrella effects are defined as correlated preferences for private labels across categories. [JEL Classifications: D12; D43; L13; L83; M31].
    March 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21466   open full text
  • Impact of Public Infrastructure on Output of U.S. Food Manufacturing Industries: A Heterogeneous Dynamic Panel Approach.
    Tingting Tong, T. Edward Yu, Kimberly Jensen, Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, Seong‐Hoon Cho.
    Agribusiness. March 02, 2016
    This study analyzes the long‐run impacts of public infrastructure on output of 34 U.S. food manufacturing/processing industries during 1958–2000 using heterogeneous dynamic panel methods, including mean group and pooled mean group methods. The results suggest that public infrastructure has a long‐term output impact across U.S. food manufacturing and processing industries. A 1% increase in public infrastructure increases U.S. food manufacturing output by 0.06% in the long run. The long‐run positive impact of public infrastructure on food output suggests its importance to the food manufacturing sector of continuous public infrastructure investment [EconLit citations: Q13; H54; C33].
    March 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21455   open full text
  • Measuring Changes in Farmers’ Attitudes to Agricultural Cooperatives: Evidence from Swedish Agriculture 1993–2013.
    Karin Hakelius, Helena Hansson.
    Agribusiness. March 02, 2016
    This study assessed changes in farmers’ attitudes to agricultural cooperatives by developing a behavioral framework based in psychological and psychometric theory for measuring attitude change. The assessment focused on a unique dataset that allowed attitude coverage and strength of evaluation derived from data collected in 1993 and in 2013 to be evaluated. Explorative factor analytical methods revealed the attitude construct to be two‐dimensional in both datasets, covering the domains named “Commitment” and “Trust” in both cases. Thus, the coverage of the attitude construct seemed unchanged. However, the strength of evaluation of both attitude dimensions was significantly increased. These findings have clear policy implications for agricultural cooperatives, since understanding the nature of changes in attitudes to these organizations is important for their successful development. [EconLit citations: P13; Q13].
    March 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21464   open full text
  • The International Wine Trade and Its New Export Dynamics (1988–2012): A Gravity Model Approach.
    J. Sebastián Castillo, Emiliano C. Villanueva, M. Carmen García‐Cortijo.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    An acceleration of the wine industry globalization process has occurred in the last decades due to increased competition, the emergence of new producers and exporters, and the existence of new wine consuming countries. All this has led to global changes in production strategies and marketing. The aim of this paper is to analyze the changes that have occurred in the global wine export dynamics and define its determinants; to do so a gravity model was estimated in which (a) the main wine producers and consumers involved in international trade are present, (b) two distinctive scenarios are present: one of continuous change (1988–1999), and one of an established export dynamic (2002–2012), and (c) bulk and bottled wines are considered. The main results show that higher incomes, lower prices, cultural and geographical affinities, and trade agreements promote wine exports; the expansion of bottled wine trade, especially within the EU, is particularly highlighted. [EconLit citations: C40; F14; Q1].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21463   open full text
  • Contractual Farming Arrangements, Quality Control, Incentives, and Distribution Failure in Kenya's Smallholder Horticulture: A Multivariate Probit Analysis.
    Isaac Maina Kariuki, Jens‐Peter Loy.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    With the rapid growth of horticultural value chains, the use of contractual farming arrangements, strategies of quality control (farm audits/crop rejections), pricing incentives, and distribution efficiencies (crop collection arrangements) are increasingly breaking market barriers, for example, private standards, certification, traceability, and supply reliability in developing countries. Cognizant of market access, farm produce value, sustainable production, and reduction of postharvest losses, this paper investigated whether farm size, schooling, producer price, farm visits, and social capital networks condition these strategies. The results show that use of written contracts is conditioned by farm sizes, more extension, and number of producer groups (PGs) while farm certification is positively predicted by farm sizes, more extension, number of sellers in the village and seasons with the same buyer. However, certification is less responsive to producer prices. Crop rejections are predicted to be less depending on a farmer's education, number of PGs, and the producer price but are more likely to increase the more the number of sellers. Further, the results show that a forward pricing incentive is highly correlated with higher producer prices, more extension, and number of seasons with the same buyer. Finally, uncollected produce at harvest is likely to decrease with farm sizes, more education and extension, higher producer price, number of PGs, and seasons with the same buyer but is more likely to increase the higher the number of sellers. Implications are made. [EconLit citations: L14; Q13].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21462   open full text
  • Heterogeneous Preferences for Domestic Fresh Produce: Evidence from German and Italian Early Potato Markets.
    Francesca Colantuoni, Gianni Cicia, Teresa Del Giudice, Daniel Lass, Francesco Caracciolo, Pasquale Lombardi.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    In this research, we explore the market potential of a domestic agricultural product, the early potato, in two countries, Italy and Germany. We conducted two parallel marketing studies aimed at revealing the most desirable characteristics for the commercialization of this product in each of the two markets, and made comparisons among consumers’ attitudes for several attributes (country of origin, carbon footprint, production method, ethical certification and packaging). Motivation for this study is the declining market share of the domestic early potato, considered an important crop in both countries, due to the competition from abroad. A focal aspect of this research is the recent public interest for social justice, traditionally reserved for products imported from developing countries, with respect to ethical products made in developed countries. The possibility for Italian and German early potatoes to regain important market shares depends on the ability to differentiate their potatoes from potatoes supplied by competing extra‐European countries. [JEL Classifications: Q13; Q18].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21460   open full text
  • Firm Size and Financial Performance: Intermediate Effects of Indebtedness.
    Ernesto Lopez‐Valeiras, Jacobo Gomez‐Conde, Teresa Fernandez‐Rodriguez.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    This paper offers a new perspective for the agricultural economics literature on the relationship between firm size and financial performance. We contribute to the literature by exploring the role of indebtedness in this relationship. Using archival data collected from 83 companies belonging to livestock industries, the empirical findings confirm the hypothesis that indebtedness leverages the effect of size on financial performance. That is to say, indebtedness can enhance the realization of the potential benefits of a larger organizational size. Contrary to expectations, these results reveal that the relationship between size and financial performance is negatively mediated by indebtedness. [EconLit citations: D23; M00; Q13].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21458   open full text
  • Technical Efficiency in Agribusiness: A Meta‐Analysis on Ghana.
    Justice G. Djokoto, Korbla F. Gidiglo.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    The few meta‐analyses published on efficiency in agriculture focused on traditional agriculture to the neglect of agribusiness. This article presents a meta‐analysis on agribusiness using Ghana as a case. Databases including AgEconsearch, Google scholar, EBSCOHost, EmeraldInsight, and Wiley online Library among others were searched in order to identify published studies relating to the subsectors of agribusiness. The selected loglog fractional regression model revealed that mean technical efficiency (MTE) increased over time with a mean value of 62%. MTEs of geographical sections of Ghana are also similar. Time series models possess higher MTE than panel data MTEs. In line with theory, models without functional forms and distance functions elicited higher MTE than Cobb–Douglas and translog functions. Nontraditional agricultural production showed higher MTE than traditional agriculture. MTEs in the production subsector do not differ from those in the manufacturing subsector. While this indifference suggests that value adding manufacturing subsector is as efficient as the primary production agriculture, and the increasing MTE notwithstanding, efficiency improving measures including training in farm management are required to make up for the mean difference of 38% found. [JEL Classification: Q13].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21457   open full text
  • What Is the Value of Extrinsic Olive Oil Cues in Emerging Markets? Empirical Evidence from the U.S. E‐Commerce Retail Market.
    Luigi Roselli, Domenico Carlucci, Bernardo Corrado Gennaro.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    Olive oil consumption in the United States has more than tripled over the past two decades and imports have grown considerably, in particular from Mediterranean countries. This is due to the spread of the Mediterranean diet and increasing consumer awareness about the health benefits of olive oil. We investigated the role of the main extrinsic quality cues (size of container, product category, organic certification, geographical indications, country of origin, and brand) in affecting the price of olive oil sold in the U.S. e‐commerce retail market. Using data from amazon.com, the leading e‐retailer in the United States, a hedonic price model was estimated. Results show that all the considered extrinsic quality cues have a significant impact on the price of olive oil, with interesting implications for both practitioners and policy makers. [EconLit citations: Q110; Q130; Q170].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21454   open full text
  • An Analysis of Milk Pricing in the United States Dairy Industry.
    Yuliya V. Bolotova.
    Agribusiness. March 01, 2016
    The performance of the system of milk pricing within Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) has recently attracted increased attention. A dramatic increase in the volatility of milk prices received by dairy farmers has adversely affected dairy farm profitability. Furthermore, the effects that the private Exchange spot cheese market has on FMMOs milk pricing have raised concerns, mostly due to an imperfectly competitive nature of competition process in this market. This research analyzes the behavior of Class III milk price, which is the mover of the overall FMMOs pricing structure, during three milk pricing regimes: Minnesota–Wisconsin price series (1960s–1995), Basic Formula Price (1995–1999), and Multiple Component Pricing (2000–present). The empirical evidence presented in the article indicates that changes in the level of Class III milk price were rather minor in magnitude. However, changes in the milk price volatility were dramatic. There is empirical evidence indicating that the private Exchange spot cheese price is the main determinant of the Class III milk price, which is consistent with the design of Class III milk pricing during the analyzed FMMOs milk pricing regimes. [JEL Classifications: L1; Q1; K2].
    March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21456   open full text
  • Visual Attention's Influence on Consumers’ Willingness‐to‐Pay for Processed Food Products.
    Alicia L. Rihn, Chengyan Yue.
    Agribusiness. January 16, 2016
    The primary objective of our study was to investigate the impact of extrinsic cues (specifically production method, origin, and nutrient content claim labels) on consumers’ willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for processed foods (apple juice and salad mix). Data were collected using an experimental auction in combination with eye‐tracking analysis. Tobit models were used to analyze the data. We found that participants were willing to pay a premium for local or domestically produced apple juice. Organic production methods positively impacted participants’ WTP for both products. Additionally, results suggest that consumer visual attention increases for important product attributes that positively or negatively impact their WTP bids. Supply chain members (producers, processors, and retailers) can promote important product attributes using labels and in‐store promotions to give consumers additional information and influence their food selection preferences. In turn, these promotions may help supply chain members acquire additional customers and encourage healthy consumption patterns. [EconLit citations: D120, M310]
    January 16, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21452   open full text
  • Opportunities for Western Food Products in China: The Case of Orange Juice Demand.
    Xuqi Chen, Zhifeng Gao, Lisa House, Jiaoju Ge, Chengfeng Zong, Fred Gmitter.
    Agribusiness. January 12, 2016
    China's ever increasing demand for agricultural products provides new opportunities for both domestic and foreign food companies. With Western‐style products becoming increasingly popular across China, more information is needed to better evaluate the future market opportunities of different juice products. In this regard, we investigate Chinese consumer perception, knowledge, and willingness‐to‐pay for different types of orange juice products. Results show that Chinese consumers have limited knowledge of juice products, especially for Western‐style juices. Although consumers are willing to pay more for products with higher juice content, 10% orange juice drink will probably continue to dominate the orange juice product market in China unless there is a significant drop in the price of 100% not from concentrate orange juice. Consumers with better knowledge of juice products, females, and those with higher income are more likely to be willing to pay more for 100% not from concentrate orange juice. [EconLit citations: C34, D12, M31].
    January 12, 2016   doi: 10.1002/agr.21453   open full text
  • Social Networks and Restaurant Ratings.
    Ashutosh Tiwari, Timothy J. Richards.
    Agribusiness. December 10, 2015
    When choosing among restaurants, consumers either look to their peers or to anonymous reviews on the Internet. In this study, we examine the impact of peer versus anonymous social networks on restaurant ratings and revisitation intent. We find that peer networks are substantially more effective in driving consumers' preferences for restaurants, even after controlling for the endogeneity of peer ratings, and that negative reviews have a greater impact on preferences than do positive reviews. Our results suggest a more general finding, namely, that peer networks may be more effective than anonymous networks for many important, complex choices. [EconLit citations: D12, L11, M31, Q13]. 
    December 10, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21449   open full text
  • Risk Preferences, Transaction Costs, and Choice of Marketing Contracts: Evidence from a Choice Experiment with Fresh Vegetable Producers.
    Michael Vassalos, Wuyang Hu, Timothy Woods, Jack Schieffer, Carl Dillon.
    Agribusiness. December 09, 2015
    Growers’ preferences for a number of marketing contract attributes, as well as the effect of growers’ risk aversion levels on the choice of marketing contracts, were examined with the use of a choice experiment. The main data source for the study is a mail survey administrated to wholesale tomato growers. The findings validate the transaction cost hypothesis and indicate heterogeneity in preferences. On the other hand, risk preferences had limited impact on contract choice.
    December 09, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21450   open full text
  • Menu‐Labeling Formats and Their Impact on Dietary Quality.
    Nadia A. Streletskaya, Wansopin Amatyakul, Pimbucha Rusmevichientong, Harry M. Kaiser, Jura Liaukonyte.
    Agribusiness. December 04, 2015
    The impact of three menu‐labeling formats on changes in dietary quality of an away‐from‐home meal is measured. The analysis is based on a lunchtime experiment using 232 student participants, with a control group and three treatments: (1) a calorie‐content posting, (2) a complete nutrition‐facts panel, and (3) health‐related claims. We find that the calorie content posting lead to the highest calorie reduction, but it was also the only treatment associated with a significant reduction in the fiber content of the meal. The complete nutrition‐facts panel treatment resulted in most sizable decreases in problematic nutrient content such as empty calories and calories from fat and added sugar. The health‐related claims treatment led to a reduction in carbohydrates and calories from fat. The nutrient density of selected meals remained mostly unchanged across all treatments, but the empty calories proportion of total calories was reduced in the nutrition‐facts and health‐related claims treatments, with the latter also leading to some reduction in added sugar density. [EconLit citations: I12, I18, Q18].
    December 04, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21444   open full text
  • Effects of Values and Personality on Demand for Organic Produce.
    Carola Grebitus, Jerome Dumortier.
    Agribusiness. December 02, 2015
    Personality and human values have shown effects on consumer preferences and willingness to pay. This paper analyzes simultaneously the impact of human values and personality on the demand for organic tomatoes applying open‐ended choice experiments. Results show that consumers make a distinction between conventional and organic tomatoes, such that human values have a differential impact with regard to predicting demand for products associated with organic labels. Consumers with strong individualistic domains of hedonism and stimulation are more likely to have a higher demand for organic, the same holds for consumers with the strong collectivist domain conformity, and those values that regard both (security and universalism). Also, consumers distinguish between conventional and organic tomatoes, such that personality has a differential impact with regard to predicting demand for organic products. The more agreeable the consumer, the higher the demand for organic tomatoes. In addition, results indicate that when modeled simultaneously, values are more stable in affecting demand compared to effects resulting from personality. Overall, results indicate that human values and personality are able to explain a portion of the variability of demand.
    December 02, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21445   open full text
  • Effects of Policies on Yam Production and Consumption in Nigeria.
    Adesiyan Oluwafunmilola Felicia, Adesiyan Adewumi Titus, Adebayo Simeon Bamire, Coulibaly Ousmane, Robert Asiedu.
    Agribusiness. December 02, 2015
    Several efforts have been made through research, government programs and Non‐Governmental Organisations (NGO) interventions to improve yam production in Nigeria. In addition, some policies targeted at improving agricultural production have weakened the production and consumption of different commodities, especially yam. This study analyzed the effects of policy changes on yam production and consumption in Nigeria. A multi‐stage sampling technique was used to select 700 respondents for the study. Primary data was collected using pre‐tested structured questionnaire while interview guide was used to collect information in a Focus Group Discussion. Data were analyzed using Multi‐Market Model. The results showed that that policy changes on yam substitutes, particularly rice, sometimes have negative effects on yam production, prices, land share and real income among yam farming households in Nigeria depending on the nature of the policy.
    December 02, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21446   open full text
  • Can Strategic Capabilities Affect Performance? Application of RBV to Small Food Businesses.
    Laura Carraresi, Xhevrie Mamaqi, Luis Miguel Albisu, Alessandro Banterle.
    Agribusiness. December 01, 2015
    The paper aims to analyze the relationships between strategic capabilities and performance among food SMEs, identifying which capabilities play a leading role in establishing competitive advantage. Four strategic capabilities were analyzed: innovation, marketing, network, and information acquisition. We ran a Structural Equation Model involving 67 food SMEs located in Italy. The results revealed that the marketing, network, and innovation capabilities directly and positively affect performance. SMEs benefit from selling their products in the national market. The network capability plays a dual role: It has a direct positive influence on performance as well as an indirect effect on the capability to acquire information about market and supply chain agents. The acquired market‐ and consumer‐related information is extremely valuable in enhancing the marketing capability and improving performance. The innovation capability is slightly less significant than the others in affecting performance.[EconLit citations: L11, L25, L66, Q13]
    December 01, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21451   open full text
  • A Hedonic Valuation of Health and Nonhealth Attributes in the U.S. Yogurt Market.
    Alessandro Bonanno.
    Agribusiness. November 24, 2015
    The U.S. yogurt category encompasses a multitude of subcategories including products carrying health‐related attributes, some products targeting specific segments of the population (i.e., yogurt for kids), and others of recent introduction (e.g., Greek‐style yogurts). Given the numerous attributes that can be present in a product, characterizing those leading to a higher premium can help manufacturers to engage in profitable product formulation. This paper investigates the role played by health and nonhealth‐related attributes on yogurt prices in the United States, both at the national level and in different geographic markets, by means of a large scanner database of yogurt sales and a hedonic price model. The findings indicate that health‐related attributes more commonly associated with yogurts such as the presence of probiotics, specific health claims, and other credence attributes (i.e., organic and “natural”) are valued positively while others, which may lead to lower product acceptance (e.g., fibers, Omega‐3) are not. Nonhealth‐related features, such as “for kids” and Greek‐style, show a positive market value, thus helping in product differentiation. The magnitude of the implicit price of most product attributes is found to vary across markets, hinting that food manufacturers should consider market‐specific product formulation strategies to achieve product differentiation more effectively.
    November 24, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21448   open full text
  • Consumers’ Preference Heterogeneity for GM and Organic Food Products in Germany.
    Agnes Emberger‐Klein, Marina Zapilko, Klaus Menrad.
    Agribusiness. September 20, 2015
    According to the EU co‐existence strategy, no form of agricultural food production system should be excluded. The driving force for this policy is the need to ensure consumers' freedom of choice. The aim of this study is to analyze whether preference heterogeneity for a GM and an organic variant of the same product exists among German consumers. The analysis is based on a survey conducted in spring 2007 in Germany. The specified mixed‐logit and latent class model show significant preference heterogeneity for both production technologies. We found one consumer segment with opposing preferences for GM and organic products and a second one exhibiting positive preferences for GM and organic products. The consumers in the second segment are possibly those who would most benefit from the EU co‐existence strategy and would probably be willing to cover the additional costs associated with a co‐existence strategy in the existing food value chains (D12). [EconLit citations: D12].
    September 20, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21439   open full text
  • Demand Side Change, Rurality, and Gender in the United States Veterinarian Market, 1990–2010.
    Tong Wang, David A. Hennessy, Seong C. Park.
    Agribusiness. July 27, 2015
    Little is known about how animal input sectors have been impacted by far‐reaching changes in global animal agriculture over recent decades. This paper explores the forces determining U.S. veterinarian practice location and how location choices have evolved over the past two decades. We provide a theoretical model of veterinarian market supply and demand with particular emphasis on rurality, gender, and demand side change. We also estimate bivariate Tobit models of location choice for 1990, 2000, and 2010. Results suggest that female veterinarians are less responsive to the presence of food animals than their male counterparts. For both genders, veterinarians are more responsive to animals of higher value. Using animal caretakers as a proxy for companion animals, we find that female veterinarians have become more responsive to this indicator over the 20 years. All else equal, female and male veterinarians tend not to locate in rural areas. Aversion to rural areas has remained fixed over time among males but has strengthened among females. [EconLit citations: J16, J43, Q13].
    July 27, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21433   open full text
  • Detecting COOL Impacts on United States–Canada Bilateral Hog and Pork Trade Flows.
    James Rude, Marie‐Hélène Felt, Edgar Twine.
    Agribusiness. July 22, 2015
    This paper examines the impact of mandatory Country of Origin Labeling on American imports of Canadian hogs and pork by testing for structural change. Given the uncertainties over the timing of the implementation and reform of COOL, we implement statistical procedures that endogenously test for structural change over multiple time periods. We find evidence that COOL has impacted U.S./Canada feeder and slaughter hog trade flows. In contrast, we found no evidence of structural change for pork trade flows that could be associated with COOL. [EconLit citations: Q17; C12].
    July 22, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21436   open full text
  • Investigating Technical Efficiency and Its Determinants by Data Envelopment Analysis: An Application in the Greek Food and Beverages Manufacturing Industry.
    Anthony N. Rezitis, Maria A. Kalantzi.
    Agribusiness. July 06, 2015
    In this paper, a two‐step procedure is applied in order to investigate technical efficiency and its determinants in the Greek food and beverages manufacturing industry for the period 1984–2007. Technical efficiency scores for the industry are estimated using the data envelopment analysis approach. Moreover, bootstrapped truncated regressions and OLS regressions are applied in order to investigate the factors affecting technical efficiency. The empirical results indicate that there is a fluctuation of technical efficiency scores among the sectors of the food and beverages industry. Furthermore, the findings obtained from both the Tobit and the OLS regressions support that the factors affecting positively the level of technical efficiency are sector size, capital productivity, labor productivity, and labor intensity. The results also show that the technical efficiency of the whole industry tended to decrease during the period 1984–2007. Moreover, the present paper provides some policy recommendations that may be useful for the industry to overcome the present economic crisis. Finally, in future research, the technical efficiency of the Greek food industry will be analyzed based on the meta‐analysis approach. [JEL Classifications: C60, L60, O14].
    July 06, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21432   open full text
  • Consumer Preference for Sustainable Attributes in Plants: Evidence from Experimental Auctions.
    Chengyan Yue, Ben Campbell, Charles Hall, Bridget Behe, Jennifer Dennis, Hayk Khachatryan.
    Agribusiness. June 30, 2015
    Experimental auctions were employed to investigate U.S. and Canadian consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainable attributes in plants. The results show consumers are willing to pay a price premium for energy and water savings in plant production of $0.15 and $0.12, respectively. Consumers are only willing to pay $0.08 more for sustainably labeled product. Latent class segmentation analysis identifies three distinct consumer segments: Import‐Liking, Mainstream, and Eco‐local. Mainstream Consumers were the largest segment and willing to pay only modest premiums for eco‐friendly attributes. Eco‐local consumers comprised 14% of consumers and they were willing to pay the highest amount for the improved production methods and container types, while having the highest willing to pay for local and domestic products. [EconLit citations: D44, M31].
    June 30, 2015   doi: 10.1002/agr.21435   open full text
  • Seasonal Quality Premiums for Wheat: A Case Study for Northern Germany.
    Jens‐Peter Loy, Thore Holm, Carsten Steinhagen, Thomas Glauben.
    Agribusiness. April 17, 2014
    Seasonal variations of the price premium for bread and feed wheat indicate opportunities to profitably adjust the grain marketing strategy of farmers that harvest (and store) both wheat types. In this article, we estimate the seasonal pattern of wheat price premiums on the German market using a vector error correction approach, which accounts for multivariate autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity of the error terms. Our results indicate a significant downward trend for the premium during the marketing season, with the trend's magnitude depending on the average quality of harvested wheat. If farmers separately store both bread and feed wheat, they should tend to sell bread wheat before they sell feed wheat, particularly in years of low average wheat qualities. Further, the volatility of the price premium significantly decreases over the season, indicating higher risks at the beginning and lower risks towards the end. The volatility of the premium may present opportunities that require a reevaluation of the recommended temporal sequence of selling bread and feed wheat.
    April 17, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21387   open full text
  • Assessing the Validity of the LOP in the EU Broiler Markets.
    Christos J. Emmanouilides, Panos Fousekis.
    Agribusiness. April 14, 2014
    The objective of this article is to assess the validity of the Law of One Price (LOP) in five major EU broiler markets. This has been pursued using weekly price data from 1991 to 2012 and recent developments in econometric methodology that account simultaneously for nonstationarity, nonlinearity, and structural breaks. The empirical results provide strong evidence that the LOP holds, predominantly in its weak version. This implies that shocks are fully transmitted from one spatial market to the others, but price differences among them are likely to persist even in the long‐run.
    April 14, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21386   open full text
  • The Production of Safe Food According to Firm Size and Regulatory Exemption: Application to FSMA.
    Sebastien Pouliot.
    Agribusiness. April 14, 2014
    One feature of recent food regulations is that they treat small and large farms/firms differently. In this article, the relationship between firm output and food safety depends on firm‐specific efficiency factors and how output and food safety interact in the cost function. The model shows that conditional on the distribution of firm output and food safety, new food safety regulations may increase the number of firms, with or without an exemption for small firms. Food safety regulations affect the composition of firms and may even create entry by less efficient firms. The article discusses implications of the Food Safety Modernization Act which includes exemption for small firms.
    April 14, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21385   open full text
  • Effect of Price‐discount Distribution in Multi‐unit Price Promotions on Consumers’ Willingness to Pay, Sales Value, and Retailers’ Revenue.
    Faical Akaichi, Rodolfo M. Nayga, José M. Gil.
    Agribusiness. April 11, 2014
    Using multi‐unit auctions, we examined the effect of different distributions of price discount across multiple units of a relatively new product on consumers' Willingness to Pay (WTP), sales value and retailers' revenue. We found that allowing the price discount to be increasing in the number of units increases willingness to pay, sales value and retailers' revenue and that a price discount that is uniformly distributed across units also has the potential to motivate consumers to buy more units of the product. However, multi‐unit price promotions that concentrate all the amount of price discount on the last unit only generate a weak positive effect on sales value. [EconLit Citations: C910, D120, M310].
    April 11, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21389   open full text
  • The Changing Structure of the Maize Seed Industry in Zambia: Prospects for Orange Maize.
    Melinda Smale, Eliab Simpungwe, Ekin Birol, Girma Tesfahun Kassie, Hugo de Groote, Raphael Mutale.
    Agribusiness. April 10, 2014
    Zambia's maize seed industry is currently one of the strongest and most competitive in Sub‐Saharan Africa. This paper describes the changing structure of the maize seed industry and seed supply chain in Zambia. The aim of the paper is to propose elements of a marketing strategy for seed production and delivery of recently released, provitamin A‐rich, orange maize varieties. Information sources include a thorough review of the literature, a statistical survey of farmers in the major maize‐producing areas of the country, and key informant interviews conducted with seed company representatives. We discuss the merits of two strategies: (1) liberalizing the provision of original orange maize planting material to all seed companies with the aim of maximizing the impact of this public health intervention, and (2) exclusive rights granted to companies with the goals of preserving differentiated products and ensuring standard seed quality to protect the brand. We find that, exclusive or not, risk‐sharing contracts with any company that takes up this product, as well as building and maintaining a unique brand for orange maize would be essential for the success of this product.
    April 10, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21384   open full text
  • The Demand for Pork Products in Canada: Discount Promotions and Cannibalization.
    Getu Hailu, Richard J. Vyn, Yong Ma.
    Agribusiness. March 26, 2014
    We estimate the effectiveness of offering discounts on the demand for featured pork products using Ipsos‐Reid's Consumer Panel of Canada data for a 1‐year period from April 2007 to March 2008, and explore whether there are any positive or negative spillover effects on non‐featured products because of these discounts. We find strong evidence that, as expected, discounts increase the purchases of the featured products. However, we find that offering discounts may have cannibalistic effects – negative cross‐discount effects – on non‐featured products, and that these effects vary considerably among pork products. From the retailers’ perspective, as profit margins have become smaller, our results indicate the need to develop a promotion strategy that minimizes the cannibalistic effects from discounts.
    March 26, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21383   open full text
  • Price Volatility Transmission in Food Supply Chains: A Literature Review.
    Tsion Taye Assefa, Miranda P.M. Meuwissen, Alfons G.J.M. Oude Lansink.
    Agribusiness. March 13, 2014
    This paper reviews the literature on price volatility transmission in vertical food markets. The methods and major findings of the literature are discussed and avenues for future research are suggested. The literature review shows that price volatility is analyzed using a class of univariate and multivariate GARCH models. The reviewed studies conclude that price volatility transmits along food supply chains thereby exposing all chain actors to risk and uncertainty. Extension of the limited sample period, country, product, and chain stages coverage of the current literature are suggested as avenues for future research. A largely ignored aspect in the current literature is the identification and empirical testing of the role of contextual factors on the degree of price volatility transmission.
    March 13, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21380   open full text
  • Competitive Drivers in Marsala's Wineries.
    Aldo Bertazzoli, Rino Ghelfi, Sergio Rivaroli.
    Agribusiness. March 12, 2014
    The objective of this article is to identify and evaluate the competitive strategies of niche enterprises selling traditional protected designation of origin (PDO) wine in domestic and international markets. This study employs the multidimensional scaling unfolding technique to analyze the perceptions of 24 representatives of wine‐making firms located in the Marsala area (Sicily, Italy). The cognitive maps highlight management choices regarding the competitive driving forces between 2007 and 2011. The results of this study reveal firms’ two main competitive strategies. The first strategy focuses on managing the functional assets; depending on the competitive environment in which the enterprises operate, the outcome seems to comply with Hotelling's model. The second strategy seeks to successfully exploit positional assets—such as the ability to manage intangible resources that have a strong emotional component—that are perceived to strengthen a firm's competitiveness by differentiating it from similar enterprises [EconLit citations: D220, L100, L290]
    March 12, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21381   open full text
  • Optimal Generic Advertising under Bilateral Imperfect Competition between Processors and Retailers.
    Chanjin Chung, Youg Sook Eom, Byung Woo Yang.
    Agribusiness. February 27, 2014
    The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of bilateral imperfect competition between processors and retailers and of import supply on optimal advertising intensity, advertising expenditures, and checkoff assessment rates. First, comparative static analyses were conducted on the newly developed optimal advertising intensity formula. Second, to consider the endogenous nature of optimal advertising, a linear market equilibrium model was developed and applied to the U.S. beef industry. Results showed that the full consideration of retailer‐processor bilateral market power lowered the optimal values of assessment rates, advertising expenditures, and advertising intensity for the checkoff board whereas consideration of importers increases the optimal values. The results indicate that ignoring the import sector in optimal generic advertising modeling should underestimate these optimal values, whereas ignoring the bilateral market power between processors and retailers overestimates the values.
    February 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21379   open full text
  • Promoting Fresh Produce: A Losing Battle?
    Edward W. McLaughlin, Harry M. Kaiser, Bradley J. Rickard.
    Agribusiness. February 20, 2014
    Previous research indicates that returns to agricultural producers from generic promotion of their products are substantial. Yet, despite public policy interest in increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, the United States produce industry has not embraced industry wide promotion. We conduct a survey to better understand stakeholder opinion of a proposed promotion program, and to examine how changes in program design might influence support. Econometric results indicate that support would increase if specific promotion examples were provided, if evidence of likely profitability was clear and if substantial government matching funds were available. Policy implications, including the importance of appropriate target audience and clear communication of program features, are suggested.
    February 20, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21378   open full text
  • Measuring the Effects of a Sliding Scale Duty System on China's Cotton Market: A Spatial Equilibrium Approach.
    Xuejun Wang, Koshi Maeda, Satoshi Hokazono, Nobuhiro Suzuki, Harry M. Kaiser.
    Agribusiness. February 18, 2014
    We examined the impacts of China's implementation of a sliding scale duty (SSD) system on the world cotton market. The analysis was based on a spatial equilibrium model of major importing and exporting regions that incorporates key features of China's SSD. The model solutions suggest that implementation of the SSD system improved market access for imports of cotton in China, which benefitted cotton processors, and adversely affected China's cotton producers. The Chinese market price of cotton decreased, imports increased, and domestic production declined. Furthermore, subsequent adjustments of the SSD system increased market access for cotton, which benefitted China cotton processors. These changes in China's cotton trade policy altered conditions in the world. [EconLit Citations: C600; F130; Q170]. 
    February 18, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21374   open full text
  • Price Discovery in the Chinese Corn Futures Market, With Comparisons to Soybean Futures.
    Yunxian Yan, Michael Reed.
    Agribusiness. February 12, 2014
    The Chinese corn futures market is the second largest after the CBOT in terms of trading volume in contracts. In 2012, the trading volume of corn futures was 37 million contracts (or 378 million metric tons). The relationship between Chinese corn futures and spot prices is studied to gauge the price discovery process. Formal statistical tests are conducted based on Johansen's co‐integration, Granger causality and the Garbade‐Silber approach for the corn spot prices and futures prices. All empirical analysis is also performed for GMO and non‐GMO soybeans to provide a contrast with the corn futures market. The results suggest that Chinese corn futures prices guide the spot prices; that is, the corn futures market can serve as legitimate guide for future cash prices. This conclusion is valid for GMO futures market, but is not found to be the case for non‐GMO soybeans, where spot prices guide futures prices.
    February 12, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21376   open full text
  • Marketing Raw Milk from Dairy Farmers before and after the 2008 Milk Scandal in China: Evidence from Greater Beijing.
    Xiangping Jia, Hao Luan, Jikun Huang, Shengli Li, Scott Rozelle.
    Agribusiness. February 10, 2014
    China's 2008 milk scandal severely impacted its dairy industry. Afterwards, the government took prompt efforts to regulate and enhance food safety standards. For example, a dairy marketing management policy was implemented, and concentrated dairy complexes were recommended as options for smallholder dairy farmers. The results of this study show that the policies affected marketing channels at the farm gate. Since then, new dairy complexes have emerged and are becoming the primary marketing channel for milk. The marketing transformation has profound implications for food safety, and has strengthened vertical coordination in the Chinese dairy chain.
    February 10, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21375   open full text
  • The Hedonic Price for Italian Red Wine: Do Chemical and Sensory Characteristics Matter?
    Rosella Levaggi, Eugenio Brentari.
    Agribusiness. February 10, 2014
    In this article, we study the main determinants of price for Italian red wine sold on the domestic market via the estimation of a hedonic price function for the period 2005–2009. For each bottle considered, our dataset contains several characteristics, such as the price by retail channel (price in supermarkets and in wine shops), label characteristics, chemical analysis and sensory and experts’ evaluations. The unique features of the dataset allow us to study the price formation in the different market segments. The analysis shows that in the large‐scale retail trade consumers value most what is written on the label, but only if it is a verifiable characteristic; label characteristics are also important in wine shops, but a selection process exists to enter this market. Finally, selling wine via both channels appears to be a winning strategy: it allows the price to be increased in the large‐scale retail trade, but it does not reduce the price in wine shops.
    February 10, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21377   open full text
  • The Effect of Farmer Market Power on the Degree of Farm Retail Price Transmission: A Simulation Model with an Application to the Dutch Ware Potato Supply Chain.
    Tsion Taye Assefa, W. Erno Kuiper, Miranda P.M. Meuwissen.
    Agribusiness. February 06, 2014
    A classic oligopoly/oligopsony model is developed to assess the degree of price transmission in a two‐stage farmer–retailer supply chain. A simulation experiment based on data of the Dutch ware potato sector illustrates how price transmission may become imperfect and asymmetric as a consequence of retailer oligopsony power in the sense that farm price decreases are only partially passed on to consumers whereas farm price increases are more than fully transmitted. Oligopoly power by farmers to level their bargaining power vis‐à‐vis the retailers may even make the degree of price transmission worse.
    February 06, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21371   open full text
  • Survival of U.S. Sugar Beet Plants from 1897 to 2011.
    Corey C. Risch, Michael A. Boland, John M. Crespi.
    Agribusiness. February 03, 2014
    The objective of this research is to identify determinants that influence sugar beet plant survival. Important determinants identified from the literature are hypothesized to include capacity, market concentration, ownership, government policies, and historical industry events unique to this industry. As suggested by industrial organization theory, plants with greater capacity and multi‐plant firms have lower rates of closure. Likewise, the use of a high tariff on imports of refined sugar, the use of quotas on imports of sugar from various countries, and a price support program that encouraged plants to become more cost efficient have lessened the rates of closure.
    February 03, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21372   open full text
  • A Double‐Hurdle Analysis of Demand for Powdered Milk: Evidence from Household Survey Data in an Urban Chinese Province.
    Beibei Wu, Yongfu Chen, Wei Si, Hsiaoping Chien.
    Agribusiness. February 03, 2014
    The objective of this study is to explore the determinants of urban at‐home consumption demand for powdered milk in Guangdong province from 2007 to 2009. A double‐hurdle model is used in this analysis based on survey data. The data include 8188 household distributed in 15 cities and prefectures of Guangdong province. Major findings show that the income growth of urban household, an increase in the level of education of the householder, and the different age groups within the household all have positive effects on urban at‐home consumption demand for powdered milk. The prices of powdered milk have negative effects on milk consumption. Families in the Pearl River Delta consume more powdered milk than families in the other regions. The powdered milk consumption has not been significantly affected by the 2008 Chinese melamine tainted milk scandal.
    February 03, 2014   doi: 10.1002/agr.21373   open full text
  • Underlying Motivations of Organic Food Purchase Intentions.
    V. Aslihan Nasir, Fahri Karakaya.
    Agribusiness. November 04, 2013
    There has been a great deal of increase in the production and consumption of organic foods. As a result, many researchers have attempted to explain the motivations and marketing issues dealing with the topic. Many of the previous studies provide conflicting results. With this in mind, we attempt to perform a comprehensive study of organic food consumption by examining the roles of a variety of factors on intention to purchase organic foods through a survey of consumers in a large metropolitan area in Europe by utilizing the scales developed in earlier studies. The results indicate that socially responsible consumption, health orientation, utilitarian, and hedonic consumption patterns are significant predictors of intention to purchase organic foods and consumption while controlling for demographical variables. In addition, environmental responsibility acts as a moderating factor in the relationship between socially responsible consumption behavior and intention to purchase. [JEL classifications: M30, M31, M48, Q56, Q57]
    November 04, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21363   open full text
  • How Related Are the Prices of Organic and Conventional Corn and Soybean?
    Ariel Singerman, Sergio H. Lence, Amanda Kimble‐Evans.
    Agribusiness. November 01, 2013
    Cointegration was tested between organic and conventional corn and soybean markets in several locations throughout the U.S. using a unique dataset. Organic prices were found to behave like pure jump processes rather than diffusions. A simple specification for pure jump processes is introduced and used with Monte Carlo methods to compute appropriate critical values for unit‐root and cointegration tests. The findings indicate that no long‐run relationship exists between organic and conventional prices, implying that price determination for organic corn and soybean is independent from that of the conventional crops. This suggests that organic corn and soybean prices are driven by demand and supply forces idiosyncratic to the organic market. For each crop, cointegrating spatial relationships are found between prices at the main organic markets. However, such relationships are generally weaker than the ones for the corresponding conventional prices, implying that organic markets are more affected by idiosyncratic shocks than conventional markets. [JEL Classification: Q130 – Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness Q180 – Agricultural Policy; Food Policy].
    November 01, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21364   open full text
  • Theoretical Restrictions on Farm‐Retail Price Transmission Elasticities: A Note.
    Henry W. Kinnucan, Omer Tadjion.
    Agribusiness. October 30, 2013
    Zero restrictions implied by Gardner's () model are exploited to develop a simple test for perfect price transmission. Applying the test to the domestic marketing channels for U.S. beef and pork, we reject the hypothesis of competitive market clearing for pork, but not for beef. A retest using the four‐firm concentration ratio in U.S. meat packing as a proxy for market power affirms results from the simple test. [JEL Classification: Q11, Q13].
    October 30, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21362   open full text
  • The Direct or Indirect Exporting Decision in Agri‐food Firms.
    Marta Fernández‐Olmos, Isabel Díez‐Vial.
    Agribusiness. October 28, 2013
    Selecting an export channel is one of the most important strategic decisions for any exporting agri‐food firm. This paper presents a unified theoretical framework, integrating the two decisions (i.e., the export decision itself and the export channel decision) by jointly examining the effects of 1) intangible resources, 2) product quality, 3) firm size, and 4) international experience on the probabilities of these decisions. Our findings, obtained by analyzing the export behavior of 177 firms in the DOC Rioja (Spain) wine industry, can help policy‐makers understand how they should promote exports and the export channels for agri‐food firms. [JEL: Q170, M200].
    October 28, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21360   open full text
  • Price Sensitivity Within and Across Retail Formats.
    Andreas Widenhorn, Klaus Salhofer.
    Agribusiness. October 21, 2013
    Applying a synthetic demand system approach, we examine if consumers in discount stores reveal different price elasticities of demand than those in conventional supermarkets. Based on a RollAMA dataset containing information on consumption in 12 different retail chains in Austria, we first analyze demand patterns for a scenario in which consumers only frequent either discounters or supermarkets, followed by an investigation of potential cross‐format effects when both types of stores are visited. Our empirical findings suggest that for the three categories of milk products under examination, price elasticities in discount stores are generally higher. Beyond that, demand reactions in supermarkets with respect to price changes in discounters differ from the reverse case, i.e., from demand reactions in discounters when supermarket prices are changed. This is especially true for the case of drinking milk, which confirms the strategic potential of drinking milk as a loss leader product.
    October 21, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21352   open full text
  • Food SMEs Face Increasing Competition in the EU Market: Marketing Management Capability Is a Tool for Becoming a Price Maker.
    Alessandro Banterle, Alessia Cavaliere, Laura Carraresi, Stefanella Stranieri.
    Agribusiness. October 11, 2013
    The price‐making ability of food small and medium‐sized enterprises (SME) is important for their market survival. Since pricing is a part of marketing activities, by developing specific marketing capabilities, firms can improve their ability to make pricing decisions. This paper aims at evaluating the relationship between marketing capabilities and a firm's price‐making ability. A survey was conducted based on a sample of 371 food SMEs in the EU. We applied an Ordinal Regression Model to evaluate the determinants of a firm's price‐making ability. The analysis results revealed a certain ability of SMEs to set prices. Market analysis and marketing strategy planning capabilities are positively related to the price‐making ability of a firm, while firm size is not. Supply chain relationships play a crucial role in price‐making due to the strong constraint presented by the presence of vertical competition between food SMEs and supermarkets. (L25, L66, M31)
    October 11, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21354   open full text
  • Changes in the Structure of World Trade in the Agri‐Food Industry: The Impact of the Home Market Effect and Regional Liberalization From a Long‐Term Perspective, 1963–2010.
    Raúl Serrano, Vicente Pinilla.
    Agribusiness. October 07, 2013
    This study examines the reasons for changes in the composition of international trade in agricultural and food products. We use a Gravity Model to compare the impact of the key factors in bilateral agri‐food trade, which we split into three main product groups following Rauch's classification of goods, between 1963 and 2010 for a representative sample of 40 countries. Our results show that the greater rhythm of growth in differentiated and reference priced products can be explained by the existence of the home market effect. Regional trade agreements have had an unequal impact on distinct product types, being especially important in the processed product markets. [JEL Classification: F14, N70, Q17]
    October 07, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21355   open full text
  • Achieving Efficiency and Equity in Sugar Factories and Sugar‐Cropping Patterns Under Climate Change in Upper and Middle Egypt.
    Youssef M. Hamada.
    Agribusiness. October 07, 2013
    Drought as a natural phenomenon, due to variability of meteorological conditions, strikes worldwide but the severity of its impact depends on the vulnerabilities of water supply systems and economical and sectors as well as on the effectiveness of the adopted mitigation measures. The aim of this paper is to study achieving efficiency and equity in sugar factories and sugar‐cropping patterns in Upper and Middle Egypt by focusing on the Strategic Water Shortage Preparedness Plan, introduction methodologies, and specific action to fight drought within the general water‐planning framework. The Linear Programming Model was applied to calculate the sugar crops, sugar cane and sugar beet acreage, production, and income of both Upper and Middle Egypt. As a result of an optimal cropping pattern, the cultivation season would lose acreage by 7.260%, farm income increase by 1.774%, water uses decrease by 18.511%, and CO2 emission and energy reduced by 14.96%. Overall, as a result of an optimal sugar‐cropping pattern, Egyptian sugar exports would decrease by $130.086 million US. [EconLit classification: Q130 and Q000].
    October 07, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21353   open full text
  • Retailer Motivation to Adjust Milk Prices: An Analysis Using Superelasticity of Demand.
    Vardges Hovhannisyan, Marin Bozic.
    Agribusiness. September 05, 2013
    Superelasticity of demand offers a quantitative measure of demand curvature which is an important consideration in firm pricing decisions. We derive superelasticity analytic formulations for logit and random coefficient logit (RCL) demand models that can be used to shed light on firm incentives to alter price, firm cost pass‐through, and market power potential. We use the RCL superelasticities that are obtained via simulated generalized method of moments (GMM) to examine retail market power potential in regards to the marketing of national and store‐brand milk in the U.S. Our findings show that elasticity of demand rises in price for both brands, with elasticity for store brand milk lagging behind that for national brand in magnitude. Similarly, elasticities for national brands tend to decrease faster when prices are on the decline. Such a condition suggests that retailers can identify a pricing position, possibly in relation to national brand prices, at which there is a low incentive to increase or reduce store brand prices. [JEL Codes: D22, L13.]
    September 05, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21349   open full text
  • Does Income and Income Distribution Determine Global Food and Beverage Products Trade?
    Zahoor ul Haq.
    Agribusiness. July 24, 2013
    The author investigates the role of income in explaining the trade of 46 differentiated food and beverage products across 52 developed and developing countries. The Heckman maximum likelihood procedure with fixed effects was used to explore the role of income in explaining bilateral trade flows. The study finds that income but not income distribution is an important determinant of food products trade and the hypothesis that income does not influence food and beverage product trade is consistently rejected. For most of the food products, the empirical results reject the proposition that income elasticities are the same across the development spectrum. The assumption of homothetic preferences (expenditure elasticities equal to one) was most consistently rejected for middle‐income countries, but rarely rejected for lower‐ and high‐income countries. The results suggest that income plays an important role in food trade, and middle‐income countries are the growth markets of the future. [JEL Classifications: F140, F190, F430]
    July 24, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21345   open full text
  • Stock Market Reactions to Contagious Animal Disease Outbreaks: An Event Study in Korean Foot‐and‐Mouth Disease Outbreaks.
    Dustin L. Pendell, Chulgu Cho.
    Agribusiness. July 16, 2013
    This study examines the market reactions by investors of Korean agribusiness companies following five foot‐and‐mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks using an event study analysis. The results suggest that the FMD outbreaks caused the stock market to react in both a negative and positive manner to allied companies. The results also suggest that the market reactions were more gradual than instantaneous to the FMD outbreaks. Furthermore, the FMD outbreaks appear to have increased the volatility of the daily returns with the smaller companies facing the largest changes in volatility.
    July 16, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21346   open full text
  • Technological Advances in Soybean Yields: A Disaggregated Approach.
    Dwight R. Sanders, Ira J. Altman, Nick Ferraro.
    Agribusiness. July 12, 2013
    Increasing row crop productivity—as measured by yields per acre—is an important topic from a number of perspectives. On a global scale, increased output per unit of land is needed to meet growing world food demand. On a regional scale, investments in yield‐enhancing basic research need to result in improved yields for producers. In this research we set forth to quantify the impact of technology, precipitation, and temperature on soybean yields. Specifically, a disaggregated approach is used to model Illinois soybean yields across the nine state crop reporting districts. The results show that weather impacts are similar across the crop reporting districts; however, technology benefits accrue at statistically different rates across regions. The results provide no evidence that soybean yields in Illinois are plateauing [JEL Classifications: Q130, Q160, Q190].
    July 12, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21348   open full text
  • Co‐creation of Value by Open Innovation: Unlocking New Sources of Competitive Advantage.
    Marian Garcia Martinez.
    Agribusiness. July 08, 2013
    A focus on the consumer has been recognized as the key to unlocking new sources of competitive advantage. This paper looks at this new perspective in value creation where personalized consumer experience takes central stage as opposed to a product and firm‐centric view. Through an explorative case study, the paper illustrates how a joint innovation effort between Molson Coors Brewing Company UK (MCBC‐UK) and a supplier is leading to more open approaches as consumers are involved in the process. By understanding what consumers' value and engaging in active dialog and interaction, MCBC‐UK has been able to develop superior value propositions relevant to their target consumer base. The case underscores the role of consumer value creation in a commoditizing world where companies can seek to maximize the lifetime value of desirable consumer segments by taking consumers as a partner or co‐producer instead of an external element. Food and drink companies have the opportunity to add value and extricate themselves from commodity sectors where the lowest cost provider holds sway by embracing consumers' ideas as part of the innovation process.
    July 08, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21347   open full text
  • In Pursuit of Safe Foods: Chinese Preferences for Soybean Attributes in Soymilk.
    Yue Zheng, Xianghong Li, Hikaru Hanawa Peterson.
    Agribusiness. April 24, 2013
    This study examines Chinese consumers’ preferences for organic and non‐GM (genetically modified) attributes of soybeans used in soymilk. An enumerated consumer survey was conducted in three types of grocery outlets in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. We found that respondents were willing to pay a premium for organic and non‐GM attributes as well as for information on where soybeans were produced. The organic attribute certified by U.S. agencies was valued more than that certified by Chinese agencies, but the converse was true for the non‐GM attribute. Preferences were heterogeneous, particularly toward U.S.‐certified organic and soybeans of Chinese origin. [JEL Classifications: Q13, Q17]
    April 24, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21342   open full text
  • Advertising Soft Drinks to Children: Are Voluntary Restrictions Effective?
    Joshua Berning, Michael McCullough.
    Agribusiness. April 18, 2013
    Using nonlinear time series models, the authors explore the effects of an industry‐led initiative to have firms voluntarily restrict television advertising of carbonated soft drinks to children. They find that the market leader reduces its advertising to both adults and children and the second largest firm reduces advertising to adults. Advertising by a nonparticipating firm, however, increased for adults following the ban. The results emphasize the potential benefits and difficulty of coordinating cooperative behavior in this type of industry. Such policy strategies may be more effective directed at industries and not at individual firms.
    April 18, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21343   open full text
  • Do Marketing Margins Change with Food Scares? Examining the Effects of Food Recalls and Disease Outbreaks in the U.S. Red Meat Industry.
    Oral Capps, Sergio Colin‐Castillo, Manuel A. Hernandez.
    Agribusiness. April 10, 2013
    This study examines the impact of different food scare events on marketing margins in the U.S. beef and pork industries. The authors analyze how market stresses induced by the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) recalls and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks affect price spreads and the extent of price transmission at the slaughter‐to‐wholesale and wholesale‐to‐retail levels. They use monthly national data for the period 1986–2008, which includes records of FSIS recalls of varying severity and BSE events in the United States and Canada. The authors account for immediate and delayed effects of food scares and for potential cross effects across industries and countries. The results indicate that beef and food recalls do not affect their corresponding price margins and overall food safety incidents have minor cross‐industry and cross‐country effects. However, BSE discoveries in the United States considerably affect marketing margins in the beef industry, particularly at the wholesale‐to‐retail level. Interestingly, subsequent discoveries had smaller impacts on price margins. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreaks also appear to affect the extent of price transmission between wholesalers and retailers.
    April 10, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21340   open full text
  • The Strategy of One Firm Offering a New Product with Willingness to Pay Elicited in the Lab.
    Stéphan Marette.
    Agribusiness. April 08, 2013
    This study analyzes the strategy of one firm offering a new product with willingness to pay (WTP) for the usual and new products elicited in the lab. By using WTP from an experiment, surpluses for consumers choosing between the usual and new products are inferred and lead to an estimated demand for the new product. From this demand, the author shows how to estimate the ex ante price of the new product along with the ex ante level of advertising selected by one firm for informing consumers. The socially optimal level of advertising maximizing the welfare is also determined. The previous methodology is applied to two experiments with food. For a same‐advertising formula regarding information diffusion to consumers, the estimated levels of advertising highly differ between these two experiments because of different WTP variations linked to the new product.
    April 08, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21341   open full text
  • On the Evolving Relationship Between Corn and Oil Prices.
    Eskandar Elmarzougui, Bruno Larue.
    Agribusiness. March 06, 2013
    The authors identified three breaks in the relationship between corn and oil prices. The first break coincides with the second oil crisis. The second break marks the end of the agricultural export subsidy war between the European Union and the United States in the second half of 1980s; the third one occurred at the beginning of the ethanol boom at the very end of the 1990s. The relationship between corn and oil prices tends to be stronger when oil prices are highly volatile and when agricultural policies create less distortion. The ethanol boom strengthened the relation between corn and oil prices, which are cointegrated only in the fourth and last regime. Impulse response functions confirm that corn prices systematically respond to oil price shocks, but the converse is not observed.
    March 06, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21337   open full text
  • Asymmetric Price Transmission in Food Supply Chains: Impulse Response Analysis by Local Projections Applied to U.S. Broiler and Pork Prices.
    W. Erno Kuiper, Alfons G.J.M. Oude Lansink.
    Agribusiness. February 22, 2013
    In this article, the author's set out Jordà's (2005) method of local projections by which nonlinear/ asymmetric impulse responses can be computed without the need to specify and estimate the underlying nonlinear/asymmetric dynamic system. The method is used to compute price‐reaction functions that show how the prices of the different stages in a food supply chain dynamically respond to each other and whether or not these responses reveal any asymmetric patterns. Empirical applications for the U.S. pork‐meat and broiler‐composite chains illustrate the convenience of the method and reveal that in the pork chain asymmetric price transmission enables retailers (wholesalers) to increase their marketing margin vis‐à‐vis the wholesalers (farmers), whereas in the broiler sector the retailers face both temporary decreases and increases in their marketing margin as a consequence of asymmetric wholesale‐retail price transmission.
    February 22, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21338   open full text
  • Implications of Agglomeration Economies and Market Access for Firm Growth in Food Manufacturing.
    Todd M. Schmit, Jeffrey S. Hall.
    Agribusiness. February 22, 2013
    With the persistent changes in technology and increased competition in food manufacturing, it is important to reassess the effects of agglomeration economies and market access on the performance of firms. Using survey data from New York food processors, an ordered logit analysis reveals that firm growth is related to important upstream and downstream market condiations. The clustering of similar manufacturers was found to have important effects on firm revenue growth, with the benefits of firm clustering increasing significantly with the level of local urbanization. For these reasons, policies that promote intra‐industry or cross‐industry collaboration would likely benefit food manufacturers, but these benefits would not be limited to firms in close geographic proximity to one another. Moreover, in rural areas especially, manufacturing firms and community planners need to be aware of possible negative effects of competition from growing concentrations of firms so that these issues can be addressed before local business growth is adversely affected.
    February 22, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21336   open full text
  • Differences in Innovation Between Food and Manufacturing Firms: An Analysis of Persistence.
    Ángela Triguero, David Córcoles, María C. Cuerva.
    Agribusiness. February 22, 2013
    The authors examine the differences in the behavior of the innovation between the Spanish agrifood and manufacturing firms using firm‐level data from 1990–2008 to analyze the persistence in innovation and to explore the explanatory determinants of the probability of being product and process innovator. Survival functions, transition probability matrices, and dynamic discrete choice panel data models are combined to measure persistence. The results suggest that in the food industry the persistence of process innovation is higher than in product innovation. Environmental and market determinants such as market changes or appropriability are more decisive to explain innovation in food industry. By contrast, several determinant variables for innovation activities in the manufacturing sector seem not to be linked with the innovation in food firms. That is the case of the outsourcing ratio and the positive evolution of market share of the individual firm.
    February 22, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21335   open full text
  • Oligopoly and Price Transmission in Turkey's Fluid Milk Market.
    Hasan Tekgüç.
    Agribusiness. February 15, 2013
    Farmers and consumers suspect that processing firms abuse their power in the milk marketing chain by engaging in price fixing behavior. The author employs threshold autoregressive and moment threshold autoregressive tests, and contrary to expectations, finds evidence for a downward trend in wholesale milk price without a corresponding decline in farm‐gate prices. The downward trend coincides with increased competition in the dairy industry and with the growing market share of the formal sector at the expense of the informal sector. Major dairy processing firms expand their market share and yet continue to enjoy healthy profits thanks to increasing returns due to economies of scale in their processing and distribution operations in a growing market.
    February 15, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21333   open full text
  • Developing Brands for Patented Fruit Varieties: Does the Name Matter?
    Bradley J. Rickard, Todd M. Schmit, Miguel I. Gómez, Hao Lu.
    Agribusiness. February 15, 2013
    Brands have largely been absent for fresh produce products; however, apples are one of a few exceptions whereby varieties partially take the place of brands. Studying the role of brands in this market is particularly interesting given the introduction of several patented or so‐called managed apple varieties. We run an experiment to measure consumer response to a suite of apple varieties; treatments employ different branding strategies using different names for a new managed variety included in the experiment. Results suggest that the name does influence consumer valuation of the new variety and existing managed varieties, but has little impact on the willingness to pay for traditional apple varieties.
    February 15, 2013   doi: 10.1002/agr.21330   open full text
  • Improving Competitiveness of Small‐ and Medium‐Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Agriproduct Export Business Through ANP: The Turkey Case.
    Erhan Ada, Yigit Kazancoglu, Muhittin Sagnak.
    Agribusiness. November 29, 2012
    Agricultural production has considerable potential in Turkey. Different regions of the country are able to supply a variety of agricultural products due to the wide‐range of climate conditions and high land quality. Also, the majority of the water resources in the region are located within the country. Hence, with the implementation of the effective agricultural policies, agricultural products can be significantly increased in terms of quality and quantity. In this context, this study investigates findings from an explanatory study of dried fruit production and exports to improve SMEs’ competitiveness in the agriproduct export business. Turkey reported a trade deficit equivalent to USD 7533 million in November of 2011, and this shortfall is becoming more threatening day by day. Because Turkey has a comparative advantage in the dried food industry, it would be valuable to conduct a study to present a management decision tool to determine which factors are more important and to identify the weights that are most significant for dried fruit exporters. The analytical network process (ANP) method was selected to solve the problem because it has been successfully used to evaluate the factors when interdependency exists in between the decision criteria. The contributions of the study could be extended to other sectors and problem areas of business management because the approach, model, and methodology can be easily adopted by practitioners.
    November 29, 2012   doi: 10.1002/agr.21320   open full text
  • A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Agricultural Prices: An Application to Colombian Data.
    Ana María Iregui, Jesús Otero.
    Agribusiness. November 20, 2012
    This study focusses on whether the geographical separation of markets constitutes a factor that helps explain the dynamics of agricultural prices. To do this, the authors employ a highly disaggregated dataset for Colombia that consists of weekly observations on wholesale prices for 18 agricultural products traded in markets scattered around the country. The sample period spans almost a decade. According to their results, which are based on generalized impulse response functions, distance (and thus transportation costs) is a factor that helps explain the speed at which prices adjust to shocks in other locations, thus confirming that price adjustments take longer for markets farther apart. [JEL Classifications: O18, Q13, R12].
    November 20, 2012   doi: 10.1002/agr.21319   open full text
  • Market Development of Biomass Industries.
    Ira Altman, Jason Bergtold, Dwight R. Sanders, Thomas G. Johnson.
    Agribusiness. November 19, 2012
    Biomass‐based agribusiness industries hold significant potential to contribute to environmentally beneficial renewable energy. The authors explore survey evidence on producer preferences for organizational types that will influence market development. Although there are many features of market development that are important, they focus on understanding their organizational choices, the services producers may be willing to provide, and the assets producers currently own. Results indicate mid‐Missouri producers have higher preferences for spot markets compared to the southern Illinois producers; the southern Illinois producers prefer short‐term and long‐term contracts. [JEL Classifications: L220, Q130].
    November 19, 2012   doi: 10.1002/agr.21318   open full text
  • Market Dynamics in Food Supply Chains: The Impact of Globalization and Consolidation on Firms’ Market Power.
    Eleni A. Kaditi.
    Agribusiness. June 04, 2012
    The author examines whether ownership and increased competitive pressure affect food retailers’ market power, analyzing whether all actors involved in the food supply chain deviate from the pricing behavior that exists under perfect competition. A method proposed by Roeger (1995) is used to estimate monopoly and monopsony market power, relaxing the assumptions of perfect competition and constant returns to scale, and avoiding any endogeneity issues. The results obtained indicate that foreign investments and consolidation have a positive and significant impact on food processors’ and retailers’ mark‐ups. Food processors, agricultural producers, and wholesalers have lower price‐cost margins than retailers, whereas retailers exert monopsonistic power in the upstream food market as well. The results are robust for various estimation techniques and specifications.
    June 04, 2012   doi: 10.1002/agr.21301   open full text
  • Management Control Systems and ISO Certification as Resources to Enhance Internationalization and Their Effect on Organizational Performance.
    Jacobo Gómez Conde, Ernesto López‐Valeiras Sampedro, Vicente Ripoll Feliu, María Beatriz González Sánchez.
    Agribusiness. May 30, 2012
    There has been a general consensus in recent literature that internationalization is a key success factor in the competitive business environment we now live in. Using a sample of Spanish agri‐food companies, the main objective of this research is to determine the linkage of Management Control Systems (MCS), ISO certifications, internationalization and performance. The results obtained reveal, as expected, that internationalization has a direct and positive relationship with organizational performance. In addition, we find that both the use of MCS and the deployment of ISO certification positively influence companies' level of internationalization. Nevertheless, our findings clearly indicate that MCS and ISO do not influence performance directly.
    May 30, 2012   doi: 10.1002/agr.21300   open full text