Drought and rain risks will persist for Russian farms

Significance The impact of excess rain in some farming regions and drought in others has been compounded by grain export tariffs introduced to control domestic food prices. That, and lack of insurance, threatens the sustainability of many farms. Impacts Dry ground conditions and export tariffs are expected to reduce this year's winter wheat planting. Online food sales are forecast to hit USD5.5bn this year and to grow to USD14.9bn by 2024. Belarusian hopes of expanding food sales to Russia depend in a planned common agricultural policy, but agreeing it will take time.

The Impact of Consumer Schwartz Values and Regulatory Focus on the Willingness to Pay a Price Premium for Domestic Food Products: Gender Differences

This paper aims to identify which Schwartz values and regulatory focus orientations influence consumer behavior on the food market in the domain of preference for domestic products, which is closely related to consumer ethnocentrism. The CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviews) method was applied. The sample consisting of 1000 respondents was representative for the Polish adult population in terms of sex, age, education, place of living (rural vs. urban), and region. The willingness to pay (WTP) a higher price for domestic products was affected by the tradition and universalism values. Consumer value orientations and regulatory focus were more powerful in explaining the WTP than demographic or socio-economic variables. The theories of value orientations and regulatory focus were found to be more relevant for men than for women, as reflected in adjusted regression determination coefficients. Finally, the promotion regulatory focus was a significant predictor of the WTP among men, but not among women. Based on my findings, it is recommended (1) to emphasize the following elements in marketing communications in order to stimulate the purchases of domestic food products: appeals to tradition, customs, ecology, being natural; (2) to take into account the Schwartz values in consumer segmentation on the food market; (3) to differentiate marketing communications for domestic food products on the basis of gender segmentation: in messages addressed to male consumers, arguments appealing to the promotion orientation should be used more frequently.

Agriculture Practice and Food Supply in Malaysia for last 50 years

Malaysia is a developing country and agro-industries contribute country’s economy. However, it is largely unknown the scenarios of agricultural practice and food supply over the years. To understand the fact, this study was designed to explore the agricultural land use changes and domestic food supply for last 50 years in Malaysia. The result showed that oil palm plantation area and yield, both are increased by folds, conforming “oil palm” mono-culture practice. Rice cultivation area remained almost unchanged but the yield increased. However, both area of plantation and yield in case of rubber, coca and coconut were decreased. When, it comes to domestic food supply, in 1973 food grain (Rice, Wheat, Maize) import was lower than domestic production. However, the import increased more than 3 times than the domestic production in 2013. Domestic production of vegetables and vegetables import was almost 50:50. Fruits import increased almost 3 times of domestic production, though domestic production was increased. In conclusion, it is understood that Malaysian agriculture economy is standing on “oil palm” wearers domestic food supply is import dependent. It is high time to reshuffle the policy for sustainable development and achieving food sovereignty.

Dependency of domestic food sectors on imported inputs with Finland as a case study

The objective of this study is to examine the import dependency of domestic food and service sectors in Finland and produce indicators for measuring the import content of these sectors together with the import dependency of the inputs supplied into these sectors. Input–output analysis is utilised to provide the necessary information on the interdependencies and linkages between different industries for both goods and services in the Finnish economy. Primary agriculture, food processing, distribution and food service providers in Finland are heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels concerning energy and chemical inputs, including high reliance on imported supplementary protein feed for livestock production. However, most of the inputs supplied to the Finnish food and service sectors are domestic because only 20% of the total output is dependent on imported goods, services, and capital goods. The rate of self-sufficiency in food supply is high in Finland, but international trade is essential to provide the necessary energy and chemical inputs needed for food production along with livestock’s supplementary protein feed. Replacing fossil energy with sustainable renewable energy will reduce the dependence on Russia for energy supply and promoting human consumption of plant-based foods will reduce the demand for livestock feed.

Domestic Use Simulation and Secondary Shelf Life Assessment of Industrial Pesto alla genovese

The secondary shelf life (SSL) is defined as the time after package opening during which the food product retains a required level of quality. The SSL, indicated in labels as “best if used within x days after opening”, could lead to domestic food waste if not correctly evaluated. In this context, the SSL of two brands of industrial shelf-stable pesto products (with an indicated SSL of 5 days) was studied through a domestic use simulation performed in five households under two scenarios simulating real opening and storage conditions. The quality of pesto after opening was assessed through microbiological and sensory analyses, determination of instrumental colour parameters, pH and volatiles profiling. For both pesto sauces tested, a SSL ≥ 20 days was proven. Irrespective of the intensity of use (scenarios 1 and 2), the pesto was microbiologically stable: the maximum count for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TMB) observed during 20 days of storage was 9.64 ± 1.7 × 102 CFU/g, starting from a commercially stable product. Colour parameters L* and ΔE did not change significantly during storage (p > 0.05), while the a* and BI values significantly changed (p < 0.05) during the first 5 days, and then stabilized during the rest of the household storage. Nevertheless, the slight colour modifications were not perceived by the sensory panel. Moreover, sensory assessors were not able to discern pesto samples stored for up to 20 days after first opening, from a just-opened reference sample, proving that the sensory appreciation of pesto was not influenced by the time after opening. The results of this study suggest the possibility to significantly extend or even omit the SSL indications for industrial pesto sauces. The objective assessment of SSL could have impressive practical outcomes both for the industry and the end user. The elongation of the SSL on the food label might increase food sustainability, thanks to the potential reduction of food wastes, thus giving added value to the commercial products. In addition, the end user could benefit the increase of the useful period for the food consumption after first opening, with significant domestic food waste reduction, reduced household stock turnover and consequent cost savings.

Unlearned lessons of food price spikes

The article substantiates the author’s hypothesis of the fundamental reasons for periodic «ups» in prices for essential food products, including the most recent price jump in the second half of 2020. Both the official assessments of the causes of recurring food price surges and the measures taken by the executive branch to stop and prevent them are subjected to critical analysis. Conclusions and fundamental proposals are formulated aimed at eradicating the systemic causes of price volatility in the domestic food market.