Market Structure Of The Food Industries

Author : United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. Marketing Economics Division
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781390502824
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (28 download)

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Download or read book Market Structure of the Food Industries written by United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. Marketing Economics Division and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-09-08 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Market Structure of the Food Industries: Marketing Research Report No. 971 Many structural changes have occurred in the farm products marketing system during the past two decades or more. In nearly every line of business, firms have declined in number and risen in size. Output of most industries has been increasingly concentrated among the largest firms. Retailing, whole saling, and food manufacturing have grown more integrated. Technological developments, improved transportation possibilities, and economies of size represent the major explanations for the changes. To the extent that alterations in market structure have increased efficiency or improved product variety and quality, agricultural producers and consumers, as well as marketing firms, have benefited. However, producers and consumers frequently express concern about other consequences of changes in market structure, particularly as to the extent and type of competition among firms. Producers are perhaps most concerned about increasing concentration and backward integration of marketing activities. As marketing activities are performed or controlled by a smaller number of firms, producers' bargaining power may be impaired. Moreover, large food retailing organizations and food processors are likely to possess more extensive and current information about market conditions than are producers. Consumers are concerned about the efficiency and performance of marketing industries because charges for processing and distribution services account for about two-thirds of the total retail cost of farm foods. Market structure is widely recognized as a relevant variable affecting conduct and performance of food industries, although precise correlation of structure and performance has not been possible. The study reported on here was undertaken to identify and measure some of the broad changes which have occurred in the structure of food marketing industries in the past two decades. Where possible, these changes have been related to changes in the behavior of firms and the overall performance of food industries. However, it was beyond the purpose of this study to analyze in great detail the performance of the marketing system. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.