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Concentration and market power in the food chain

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  • Koen Deconinck

    (OECD)

Abstract

Concerns about market power and competition in the agri-food sector are widespread, with commentators regularly suggesting that farmers are in a structurally weaker position than other actors, who therefore benefit at their expense. The evidence reviewed in this paper indicates that downstream segments of agri-food chains are indeed typically more concentrated than farm-level production. Nevertheless, while competition problems were found in some instances, the current evidence does not support the claim that stronger actors in the chain systematically abuse their stronger position at the expense of farmers. An in-depth understanding of how value chains are organised is essential, as many widely used indicators provide little relevant information. In many areas, further research would be welcome, as current evidence does not cover all countries and sectors equally well.

Suggested Citation

  • Koen Deconinck, 2021. "Concentration and market power in the food chain," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 151, OECD Publishing.
  • Handle: RePEc:oec:agraaa:151-en
    DOI: 10.1787/3151e4ca-en
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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Pröll & Heidelinde Grüneis & Franz Sinabell, 2022. "Market Concentration, Producer Organizations, and Policy Measures to Strengthen the Opportunities of Farmers for Value Addition—Empirical Findings from the Austrian Meat Supply Chain Using a Multi-Met," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Lukáš Čechura & Tinoush Jamali Jaghdani, 2021. "Market Imperfections within the European Wheat Value Chain: The Case of France and the United Kingdom," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-21, August.
    3. McGarraghy, Seán & Olafsdottir, Gudrun & Kazakov, Rossen & Huber, Élise & Loveluck, William & Gudbrandsdottir, Ingunn Y. & Čechura, Lukáš & Esposito, Gianandrea & Samoggia, Antonella & Aubert, Pierre-, 2022. "Conceptual system dynamics and agent-based modelling simulation of interorganisational fairness in food value chains: Research agenda and case studies," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(2).
    4. Balisacan, Arsenio, 2022. "Competition, Antitrust, and Agricultural Development in Asia," MPRA Paper 112650, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Julien Vastenaekels, 2024. "Degrowth and capitalist power: A step towards a theory of change," Post-Print hal-04584989, HAL.
    6. Rodríguez del Valle, Adrián & Fernández-Vázquez, Esteban, 2024. "Analyzing market power of the agricultural industry in Asia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 652-669.
    7. Cholez, Celia & Pauly, Olivier & Mahdad, Maral & Mehrabi, Sepide & Giagnocavo, Cynthia & Bijman, Jos, 2023. "Heterogeneity of inter-organizational collaborations in agrifood chain sustainability-oriented innovations," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    8. Seán McGarraghy & Gudrun Olafsdottir & Rossen Kazakov & Élise Huber & William Loveluck & Ingunn Y. Gudbrandsdottir & Lukáš Čechura & Gianandrea Esposito & Antonella Samoggia & Pierre-Marie Aubert & Da, 2022. "Conceptual System Dynamics and Agent-Based Modelling Simulation of Interorganisational Fairness in Food Value Chains: Research Agenda and Case Studies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Buyer power; Competition; Profit margins; Unfair trading practices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • L66 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Food; Beverages; Cosmetics; Tobacco
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness

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