The Fresh Produce Industry and Changes in Food Retail in the United States: Industry Trends and Research Developments

This paper focuses on fresh produce marketing in the U.S. The realities of and industry trends for each marketing stage─from production areas to wholesale, all the way up to the retail stage─were examined by analyzing research reports and statistical data, and by reviewing material such as academic papers in the related agricultural economics fields. The paper then considers these results and views future trends in Japan in terms of the agricultural economics research in related fields. Over the past 30 years, the consumer market for the fresh produce in the U.S. has grown threefold at the consumer level and almost doubled at the farm gate level. Meanwhile, however, the fresh produce industry is facing issues such as the retail concentration and the decline of small-sized suppliers in retailing. Going forward, agricultural economics research issues that need to be studied in Japan include the effects of retail concentration on consumers, the effects that advancing concentration and vertical coordination of retail corporations will have on agriculture and wholesale businesses, changes in agricultural management, and changes in the organizational structure and function of cooperatives as a result of responding to changes in their business relationships with retail companies.