Comparative strategies and efficiency analysis of milk production chains in different EU countries

The reforms of the EU dairy sector raise concerns about the further functioning of the sector at the EU and regional level. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the total efficiency of milk production chains in different EU countries in relation to the business competitiveness obtaining strategy applied. There are different strategies applied among the countries. The most value adding oriented dairy industries are in Spain, Belgium and Italy, but the dairy industries of Ireland and the United Kingdom are the most outstanding representatives of cost leadership. On farm level also different strategies may be observed. Comparing the efficiency levels for the whole milk production chain, representatives of the both main strategies are present - the Netherlands and Ireland with their cost leadership strategy and also Belgium with its value adding strategy. When to evaluate the labour efficiency, Spain, Belgium and also Italy demonstrate a strategy based on the use of labour intensive higher value adding approach, whilst the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, also the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden seem to maintain higher capital intensive cost efficiency strategies

Development of Agricultural Market and Trade Policies in the CEE Candidate Countries.

This synthesis report focuses on the evolution of agricultural market and trade policies in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) candidate countries in the period 1997 to 2001. The developments were crucially influenced by (OECD, 2000a): ⢠the situation in world agricultural markets; ⢠the overall macroeconomic development in the countries considered; ⢠the prospective EU accession; ⢠bringing domestic agricultural policy in line with the Uruguay Agreement on Agriculture (URAA). High 1997 agricultural prices on world commodity markets were followed by a marked depression in 1998. With the exemption of milk products this trend continued in 1999. Likewise the economic and financial crisis in Russia had a considerable impact on agricultural policies. It hit the regions´ exports resulting in a decline in industrial as well as agricultural output1. Thus, compared to the previous years most of the CEE candidate countries experienced a slow down or even negative rates of growth in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1998 and 1999. In addition those countries felt increased budgetary pressures. Agricultural market and trade policies largely reacted to these developments. Border protection was increased in many countries in 1998. This was combined in some cases with export subsidies, and ad hoc producer aids to mitigate the adverse effects. The prospect of EU accession also had an influence on the agricultural policy design in the region with many countries implementing EU-type policy instruments. Thus, the importance of per hectare and per head payments increased in the region, quota like measures were implemented in some countries and as part of this development Estonia introduced tariffs for agro-food imports. Finally, many countries also continued to adjust their policies to comply with their commitments agreed to in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Despite these general tendencies there are also differences in the development of agricultural policies between the various CEE candidates. Chapter 2 therefore provides an overview of the changes of agricultural market and trade policies in each of the 10 accession countries. It addresses the policy issues market access (e.g. tariffs, special safeguard measures), export subsidies (value and quantities) and domestic support (intervention policies, direct payments, input subsidies, production quotas). Chapter 3 provides a brief assessment of recent policy developments in the region in the light of EU accession and WTO commitments. The development of prices and values, e.g. export subsidies, agricultural support expenditure, were presented in the background papers provided by the country experts in current prices in national currencies. In this synthesis report they are in addition converted in Euro. This firstly allows for a better comparison among the CEE candidate countries as well as between those countries and the EU. Some of the accession countries still suffer from high inflation and thus a strong depreciation of their currency. Thus secondly, the conversion to Euros allows the comparisons to be made in real terms.Industrial Organization, International Development, Productivity Analysis,

Latvijas lauksaimniecibas politika: procesi, problemas, risinajumi

Summary in English, RussianAvailable from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi

Grain market in Latvia

vokKirjasto Aj-

INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY IN LATVIA: RESULTS OF AN EXPERT SURVEY IN THE DAIRY AND MILLING BRANCHES

Based on the analytical framework of the structure-conduct-performance paradigm of the theory of industrial organisation, the paper analyses those economic conditions that determine the degree of competitiveness in the Latvian dairy and milling industry. The analysis is based on information from milk and grain processing enterprises acquired through a survey carried out at the beginning of 1998. It is shown that the development of market conditions and market behaviour in the sectors examined has in general progressed. Privatisation in both sectors has been completed. While in the dairy sector the majority of processing enterprises were privatised as co-operatives, in the milling industry all enterprises have become closed joint-stock companies. Since the legal status of a co-operative has turned out to be quite problematic for enterprise restructuring, more and more dairy enterprises have started to change into joint-stock companies. Competition in the investigated processing sectors can be considered as functioning. However, in the dairy sector tendencies of stronger horizontal concentration can be observed. The majority of enterprises react in quite an active way to the market conditions. Procurement and marketing channels have been diversified, and considerable investments have been undertaken. Further investments, however, are impeded by high interest rates for credits. As for performance, quite a considerable differentiation between the enterprises in the considered branches could be shown. The main problems seen by the processors are the saturation of the domestic Latvian market, the lack of investment funds, the unstable legislation, the absence of any substantial support from the government, and, in the dairy sector, the low quality of the raw milk

Latvijas lauksaimniecibas un valsts agrarpolitikas attistibas kompleksas programmas sagatavosanas pamatojums un ta metodiska izstrade

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Rekomendacijas un metodiskie materiali galas un piena parstrades uznemumu privatizacijas un piensaimnieku biedribu organizesanas jautajumos

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Tirgus intervences mehanisma izstrade

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi