Price transmission between international and domestic prices in the Brazilian citrus sector

The orange juice chain is a representative sector of the Brazilian agribusiness sector and its performance warrants analysis to identify strategies to enhance its competitiveness. Analysis of asymmetry in food value chain is important because it provides valuable information on market structure and performance. We use an asymmetric threshold error correction model to examine threshold, short- and long-run asymmetries on price transmission from international to domestic prices of oranges in Brazil. We use monthly data on international frozen concentrated orange juice prices and domestic prices of oranges in Brazil for the period from January 1996 to December 2020 in the analysis. We find evidence of threshold and asymmetries in short- and long-run price transmission and asymmetric adjustment towards a long-run relationship between international and domestic orange prices in Brazil. Decreases in international prices that lead to reductions in marketing margins are passed on quickly to domestic prices, but this is not the case for increases in international prices. We discuss implications for the Brazilian citrus industry.

Typology and performance of inter-organizational relationships among Ghanaian farmers

This study explored inter-organizational relationships (IOR) between farmers and agri-food processors in Ghana and their relative effect on participating farmers’ performance. The IOR were organized into three broad types: governance (formal/informal); orientation (price/quality/quantity); and structure (direct-to-buyer/farmer-based organization (FBO)/agent). The study showed that about 44% of farmers participated in IOR, and 72% of them use direct-to-buyer relationships compared to 25% and 5% who use FBO and agent. The total exceeds 100% because some farmers used multiple IOR structures. Likewise, more than half of farmers involved in IOR use multiple orientations, with 29%, 81% and 54% of them using orientations involving quantity, quality, and price specifications, respectively. Formal governance IOR accounted for 31% of IOR by governance. On performance, the average farm income of farmers involved in IOR was GHS 3,947, which was 3.1 times higher than non-IOR farmers, and those with formal arrangements had 6.4 times higher average farm income than farmers in informal relationships. IOR with formal governance and quality-price orientation presented positive and statistically significant effects on marginal benefits while producer demographic and socio-economic characteristics did not. These results provide instruction for policymakers and practitioners in helping inform farmers’ participation in IOR that produce superior outcomes.

Analysis of competitiveness and economic profit of the confectionary sector in Kazakhstan and its comparison with Czech Republic data

Measuring competitiveness in post-communist countries in Central Asia is challenging. Many well-known metrics fail to warn bankruptcy risks sufficiently early or at all. This study uses metrics of the Altman z-score, Taffler z-score, IN99, IN01, IN05, and creditworthiness models to assess bankruptcy likelihood and financial performance of local and foreign confectionery companies operating in Kazakhstan during 2007-2018. These companies are Roshen, KDV Yaskino, Konti, Rakhat, and Bayan Sulu. The IN bankruptcy and creditworthiness models are considered in this study because they are found to be more appropriate for post-communist countries. Compared to the well known Altman or Taffler z-score models, they better suit the events and corporate situations peculiar to these countries. The benchmarking INFA system, involving a pyramidal approach developed for Czech companies, provides the economic-value-added (EVA) and component indicators to analyze competitiveness. This study also compares the performance of Kazakhstan companies with Nestlé Czechia and the Czech food industry. The objective is to analyze company competitiveness, bankruptcy probability, and ability to create value. Results show the effectiveness of INFA in analyzing competitiveness and the applicability of IN models to companies from Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

The interaction relationships among agricultural certification labels or brands: evidence from Chinese consumer preference for fresh produce

China uses a multilevel agricultural certification system; however, its implications are not well understood. In this study, we used tomatoes as an example in a series of Becker-DeGroot-Marschak auction experiments to determine consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) toward three safety certification labels and two kinds of brands. Then, based on the auction experiment results, we designed a menu-based choice experiment to assess the interaction relationships between the safety certification labels and brands. The results showed that consumers were generally willing to pay a premium for tomatoes with safety-certified labels (especially for organic labels) and brands (especially for the enterprise brand). Providing consumers with additional information regarding the certification remarkably improved their WTP for tomatoes with organic and green labels. The menu-based choice experiment suggested that the organic and green labels were found to be substitutes. In addition, organic and green labels could not substitute the enterprise brand, whereas the converse of this relationship was true. Finally, a mutual substitution relationship was observed between hazard-free label and enterprise brand. Our research enables producers to consider the interaction between certification strategies and brand strategies. Therefore, marketers and policymakers should take steps to promote and expand consumers’ knowledge on certification, as it could benefit the development of certified food.

Effects of international trade on world agricultural production and productivity: evidence from a panel of 126 countries 1962-2014

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was notable in largely excluding agriculture whereas the World Trade Organization (WTO) brought agriculture into the world trade rules. This article aims to evaluate the impacts of trade on agriculture production and productivity, especially the changes between the GATT and WTO periods. Using a panel of 126 countries from 1962-2014, this article derives not only spillover effects that were overlooked, but also provides more accurate productivity than was estimated with bias in literature for both periods. We find that trade hindered agriculture production and productivity in the GATT period but improved agriculture production and productivity in the WTO period.

Brazilian farmer confidence in business performance

The aim of this article is to understand how rural producers in Brazil generate their investment expectations in terms of their costs, productivity, and other macroeconomic variables related to agricultural production. This study contributes to the formulation of more efficient public policies that take into account not only market information, but also the expectations of farmers. Based on data from a survey that calculates the rural producer confidence index in Brazil, non-parametric tests were performed to assess the equality of responses attributed by them in different periods, configured as crop development and harvest start, during 2014 and 2017. The results indicate that the farmer’s behavior is sensitive to changes in the market and his business. Productivity is seen as a long-term expectation. The cost of production and the sale price have generated short and medium-term expectations.

It takes two to tango: combining asset specificity and uncertainty to explain the diversity of plural forms

In this paper, we rely on an extended version of the traditional transaction cost economics (TCE) framework to explain the variety of plural forms in the governance of food supply chains. Relying on the interplay of two transactional attributes – asset specificity and uncertainty – we explore not only the existence of plural forms, but their empirical diversity. This aspect has been largely under-explored and very little has been done empirically so far in this respect, despite its empirical significance. From an organizational point of view, this diversity requires an explanation as they carry different governance properties. We propose that while both are important drivers for the prevalence of plural forms, each of them plays a different role in their composition. Whereas uncertainty determines the type of plural form, asset specificity determines the level of coordination within the plural form and sheds light in the relative weights of each organizational arrangement composing it. An embedded case study of the Korin firm in Brazil, a leading firm in the organic food market, illustrates.

Relationship between brand and dealer loyalty in the agricultural equipment market

Agricultural equipment companies intend to understand agriculture producers’ buying behavior by answering questions such as how loyal producers are to brands and dealers, which have an important impact on their profitability. This paper addresses the problem of how loyal agricultural producers are to equipment brands and dealers. Using a combination of cluster analysis and probit models, we identified producers’ behavioral and attitudinal loyalty to brands and dealers and analyzed the factors that explain such loyalty. We also found a strong interdependence between brand and dealer loyalty and the significant value that dealer loyalty adds to the brands. Additionally, we present some management implications of developing brand recognition, understanding producers purchasing behavior, and segmenting producers. This paper’s contributions are the establishment and measurement of an ‘empirical’ definition of brand and dealer loyalty, the identification and quantification of the impact of the explanatory factors of brand and dealer loyalty, and the determination of a dual loyalty relationship between brand and dealer loyalty.

Assessing the coordinated revenue-sharing contract of China’s farmer-supermarket direct-purchase model

China began connecting farmers directly with supermarkets 10 years ago, when they were at a disadvantage and forced to sell products at low prices, as unstable cooperation among supply chain participants led to inequitable distribution of revenue. Revenue-sharing contracts offer a risk-sharing approach to ensure supply chain coordination and optimize profit for all. Research on short life cycle products with revenue-sharing contracts assume stable prices or investigate the effects of revenue-sharing contracts on supply chain coordination. This study introduced a revenue-sharing contract model into a ‘farmer-supermarket direct-purchase’ supply chain, considering price fluctuation and retail promotional efforts, stochastic market demand, among other factors. Revenue-sharing contracts achieved long-term stability in supply chain coordination, all participants obtained more profits, and the size of revenue-sharing parameter depends on the position and bargaining power of all participants. A case study on Tianhong supermarket and Nanxia farmer cooperative verified these findings, eliciting practical implications for professionals and policymakers.

Traceability in food supply chains: a systematic literature review and future research directions

The food traceability system (TS) provides visual services for consumers by recording every operation procedure of food supply, processing, marketing as well as distribution throughout the supply chain. This study aims to review the academic papers which are related to food supply chain traceability (FSCT) and proposes a framework for future research. To do this, we carry out a systematic literature review of 278 peer-reviewed scientific literature published between 1994 and September 2019. By classifying the FSCT into pre-study and post-study of TS implementation, this study reveals a number of future research directions of FSCT based on thematic findings and points out that the focus on such issues has shifted to the post-adoption study of TSs. This study further categorizes nine specific research topics from past literature and identifies specific opportunities of each theme for future research.