Spatial Pigmeat Price Transmission: The Case of Lithuania and Poland

The paper investigated the patterns of changes in spatial price transmission between pigmeat prices of two post-communist Member States, namely Lithuania and Poland, and five main producing countries in the EU-15, namely Germany, Denmark, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. This study employed vector autoregression modelling, as well as the Granger causality concept, and focused on changes in price behavior from May 2004 to May 2021. The findings suggest fundamental differences in the short-term price behavior of two post-communist countries. Over the investigated period, Poland strengthened the position in the EU pigmeat market and could be classified as a price leading country for the certain markets. The case of Lithuania demonstrated that countries with lower productivity and the dominant share of pig population on small-scale farms as well as high price level became vulnerable and evolved towards a viable national pig farming structures. Hence, a movement of new Member States towards greater market integration must be linked to the spread of innovations in pig farming or exit of uncompetitive farms. In the case of Lithuania, a promising direction of policy implications is support for the establishment of modern and competitive medium-sized farms, as well as the spread of relevant knowledge and innovations.