The impact on the Netherlands of the Egyptian greenhouse vegetable chain

This report forms part of a broader analysis of the competitiveness of Dutch tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on the European market. It describes elements of Porter's competitiveness analysis for the Egyptian horticultural sector. Within this framework, it presents an analysis of the domestic demand, the supply, the structure and strategy of firms, the network and the Egyptian government. It concludes with a SWOT analysis.Crop Production/Industries,

International Flower Networks: Transparency and Risks in Marketing Channel Choice

Two thirds of Kenyan cut flowers are marketed through Dutch flower auctions, while the remainder is marketed directly to retailers. Auctions do not restrict the volumes marketed; however price determination is based on a spot market. A Transaction Cost approach is used to investigate the differences in marketing costs between the channels. The results suggest that there are no differences between the channels in terms of uncertainty about prices, finding buyers or transparency of quality standards. Auction growers pay a higher marketing fee but they have significantly fewer office employees and flower varieties compared to growers who market directly.Transaction Costs, Auction, Flowers, Kenya, Netherlands, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

Struggle for Leadership: the Competitiveness of the EU and US Food Industry

Globalization is an important issue in the food industry, although most food is still locally produced and consumed. Many small and medium enterprises characterize the industry. Results of WTO negotiations intensify the international competition, in which the EU and USA are the largest players. Countries like Brazil, India and China are gaining market share. This raises the following research questions: 1. How competitive are the EU and US food industry and their sub-sectors? 2. Which role plays innovation and legislation in the competitiveness of the industry? 3. How will the competitiveness develop under future globalization and trade liberalization? The goal of this study is to fill these knowledge gaps.Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

Administrative burdens and dairy industry competitiveness

The goal of this paper is to assess the effect of regulatory burdens in the European dairy industry on its competitiveness. A theoretical foundation is provided by transaction cost economics and total quality management insights. The effects of legislation on administrative requirements and competitiveness are supposed to be mediated by impacts on innovativeness, company strategy, food safety system availability, as well as the available information & communication capabilities. We will connect to previous research (Wijnands et al., 2007) and the findings therein. Four sub-questions are addressed: • what is the relationship between administrative burdens, innovation and competitiveness? • what is the relationship between administrative burdens, food safety & quality system deployment and competitiveness? • what is the relationship between administrative burdens, food labelling requirements and competitiveness? • what is the relationship between administrative burdens, supply chain transparency and competitiveness? In addition to the theoretical framework presented earlier in Bremmers et al., 2008, this paper contains the first results of a survey in the European dairy industry. They are combined with the proceeds from a literature search. The results show that (Q1) especially product innovation is negatively impacted by administrative burdens. Food safety and quality systems (Q2) serve to provide a level playing field in Europe. They would be installed also if no legal requirements would enforce them, because clients ask for it, so that administrative burdens could easily be attributed to business strategy rather than legal obligations. To reduce administrative burdens, we advice to integrate food safety and quality requirements is necessary. It would reduce monitoring and reporting costs, both for private as well as public parties. Food labeling (Q3) (a ‘made in Europe’ origin marking) could work contraproductive with respect to the competitive position of dairy firms and will have an increase of administrative burdens as a net-effect. And last but not least (Q4), increased chain transparency (mentioning the name of intermediary producers on the end-product package) will accelerate administrative burdens, but will only be beneficial for SMEs with a differentiated product. Commodity-producers in the dairy industry which only follow a cost strategy will gradually merge and/or disappear.dairy industry, competitiveness, administrative burdens, food safety, labelling, Livestock Production/Industries,

Zicht op de plantaardige biologische keten

This study forms part of the project entitled 'Visions of organic farming: a system analysis'. This project is being financed by Wageningen University and Research Centre, from Strategic Expertise Development funds. This project distinguishes categories of people in order to crystallise the visions. This report comprises a description of the vegetable-based organic chain. This chain is described from the consumer stage right through to the suppliers. The description concludes with a SWOT analysis for the four categories of people and a quantification of the technical parameters for those categories. De studie vormt een onderdeel van het project 'Visies op biologische landbouw: een systeem analyse'. Dit project is gefinancierd door Wageningen Universiteit en Researchcentrum uit middelen voor Strategische Expertise Ontwikkeling. In dit project worden mensbeelden on-derscheiden om de visies te concretiseren. Dit rapport bevat een beschrijving van de plantaardige biologische keten. Deze keten wordt vanaf de consument tot de toeleverende be-drijven beschreven. De beschrijving eindigt met een SWOT-analyse voor de vier mensbeelden en kwantificering van de technische parameters voor die mensbeelden.Crop Production/Industries,

The impact on the Netherlands of the Egyptian greenhouse vegetable chain

This report forms part of a broader analysis of the competitiveness of Dutch tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on the European market. It describes elements of Porter's competitiveness analysis for the Egyptian horticultural sector. Within this framework, it presents an analysis of the domestic demand, the supply, the structure and strategy of firms, the network and the Egyptian government. It concludes with a SWOT analysis

THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF FRESH TOMATOES, PEPPERS AND CUCUMBERS

International Relations/Trade,

Growth Dynamics of Dairy Processing Firms in the European Union

The structure of the dairy processing industry in the European Union has changed enormously in recent decades. In many countries the industry is characterized by a few large companies with a big market share accompanied by many small processors that often produce for niche markets. This paper investigates which factors relate to growth of dairy processing firms. Using a unique ten-year panel data set and recently developed dynamic panel data estimators, the growth process of dairy processors is investigated for six rather diverse European countries. The data structure and the estimation method allow for dealing with endogeneity issues in an appropriate way. Firm size growth measured in total assets is found to be affected by firm size, firm age and financial variables. Growth in number of employees is only affected by firm age and lagged labour productivity. Implications for these results are given in the final section of the paper