DYNAMICS OF POLISH WHEAT PRICES IN COMPARISON TO SELECTED WORLD PRICES IN A PERIOD OF ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

Poland's market reforms implemented in 1990 should possibly result in increasing price linkages between Polish and internationally traded agricultural commodities like wheat. Using regression and cointegration analysis Polish monthly wheat prices were found to be generally unrelated to selected world prices over the period of 1990/91 through 1996/97 mainly because of Polish government's intervention.Poland, price analysis, intervention price policy, wheat, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

Tradycyjne produkty żywnościowe w Polsce w świetle obecnych trendów konsumenckich i innowacyjnych trendów producenckich w produktach żywnościowych

Recently in the EU food markets there have appeared legally recognized products defined as traditional ones. In Poland, the Ministerial list of traditional food products (TFPs) represents a very wide spectrum of items (over 1,600 in October 2016) ranging from generic agricultural products to specific food dishes and meals. In the article an attempt to assess market attractiveness of this type of products in the light of the current consumer and international food product innovation trends was undertaken. Using the Lancaster approach to analyze attributes of the Polish TFPs it was found that they can be treated as a kind of marketing innovations, which are in line with some consumer as well as food product innovations trends. Consequently, this indicates certain marketing opportunities to be possibly taken by local food producers.Ostatnio na rynkach żywnościowych UE pojawiły się prawnie uznane produkty zdefiiowane jako tradycyjne. W Polsce ministerialna lista tradycyjnych produktów żywnościowych (TFPs) reprezentuje bardzo szerokie spektrum pozycji (ponad 1600 w październiku 2016 roku) od generycznych produktów rolnych do specyfiznych potraw i dań. W artykule podjęto próbę oceny rynkowej atrakcyjności tego rodzaju produktów w świetle obecnych trendów konsumenckich oraz innowacyjnych trendów w produktach żywnościowych. Wykorzystując podejście Lancastera w analizie atrybutów polskich TFPs stwierdzono, że mogą być one taktowane jako pewien rodzaj innowacji marketingowych zbieżnych z niektórymi trendami konsumenckimi i innowacyjnych trendami w produktach żywnościowych. W konsekwencji oznacza to pewne marketingowe szanse, które mogą być wykorzystane przez lokalnych producentów żywności

How government policies affect the relationship between Polish and world wheat prices

Cash prices for wheat in Poland are not closely related to futures prices in Chicago and London, for several reasons: differences in seasonality, fluctuations in exchange rate, poor dissemination of information in Poland, and most important the Polish government's intervention in wheat markets. Polish wheat prices generally move to expected intervention prices and then stay there until the next intervention level becomes known. The exception was in 1994-95, when sharply higher world prices raised prices in Poland. A wheat futures exchange in Poland could give the private sector a tool for hedging against price risk, improving efficiency and price discovery in Poland. It would be difficult to develop, however, under present interventionist policies. This situation could be improved by reducing the protection of prices and by making any intervention rules-based (reducing uncertainty about policies). Should intervention be reduced or rationalized, the next question is whether Poland needs its own wheat futures exchange or whether Poland's private sector can use futures exchanges in London and Chicago to hedge against risk. The answer to that question is not an easy one.Markets and Market Access,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Financial Intermediation

Macroeconomic Performance and International Competitiveness of the Agro-food Sectors in the EU Countries: Implications for the Future CAP

AbstractThe study is aimed at comparison of macroeconomic performance of agro-food sectors in the national economies of the EU countries and competitiveness of these sectors reflected by international trade specialization. To assess macroeconomic performance of the agro-food sectors we used data on employment, gross value added and output extracted from the Eurostat Database. To evaluate international competitiveness of the analyzed sectors revealed comparative advantage index (RCA) and revealed competitiveness index (RC) were calculated using the WTO database on exports and imports of agricultural products and food. Both relative macroeconomic performance and international competitiveness of the agro-food sectors differ considerably among the EU member state countries but the relationship between them is not very clear. However, it seems that as far as international competitiveness is concerned the CAP should be more oriented towards improving economic efficiency of the agro-food sectors, especially in the countries where the RC index is low

Business Clusters and Innovativeness of the EU Economies

Business clusters are considered as key drivers shaping competitiveness of local, regional as well as national economies. Supporters of this view argue that business clusters are vehicles to increase productivity, hence development of such economic structures is crucial to assure economic prosperity. One of the more specific reasons pointed out quite recently in the literature is that business clusters stimulate creation and diffusion of innovations. In this paper we test validity of this statement looking at cluster strength and state of cluster development in the EU-28 economies and their innovativeness. The research question we focus on is whether a measurable relationship exists between these two different phenomena. In order to answer this question data on occurrence of business clusters in the EU provided by European Cluster Observatory (ECO) and results of the three types of innovativeness rankings, i.e. Global Innovation Index (GII), Summary Innovation Index (SII), and 12th pillar in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), were analyzed. It was found that the level of innovativeness of the EU economies is clearly related to the state of cluster development. This means that innovation and cluster policies should be treated as complementary ones and implemented in a well harmonized manner

THE EFFECTS OF INCREASE IN PRODUCTION OF BIOFUELS ON WORLD AGRICULTURAL PRICES AND FOOD SECURITY

A rapid development of biofuels production observed all over the world in the recent decade has caused numerous consequences. Unfortunately, some of them have rather unexpectedly appeared to be not neutral to world food security. In the paper we briefly highlight key drivers of biofuels production and discuss some supporting as well as opposing arguments presented in the literature with regard to this development. Then, we focus on the transmission mechanism showing how increasing production of biofuels may influence agricultural markets and prices and eventually have an impact on food security. Finally, based on results of our own analysis using the World Bank and the FAO data we provide some empirical evidence that further policy driven development of the biofuels production can exacerbate its negative effects on food security. Especially, we point out emergence of visible linkages between energy and agricultural prices and underline increasing volatility of the latter ones. Due to market interconnectedness between biofuel and agro-food sectors, a strong increase in production of biofuels has contributed to higher levels and greater volatility of agricultural prices. As a result of such development, food affordability in many countries has lowered, hence, the overall world food security has worsened. In conclusion, to avoid distorting effects of biofuel policies, we recommend a flexible approach to the mandates including their removal since production of biofuels should compete for resources as being economically viable activity

Development of Artificial Intelligence and Potential Impact of Its Applications in Agriculture on Labor Use and Productivity

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most striking recent technology developments. Potentially, it can significantly affect all areas of economic activities including agriculture. The paper addresses two issues such as the actual essence of AI and its most important current and expected future applications in agriculture and their potential impact on labor use and productivity of this sector. The research methods applied in the paper are critical analysis of selected literature sources and deductive reasoning regarding the likely influence of AI applications on labor use in agriculture and its total factor productivity. It was found out that applications of AI in agriculture are numerous and very diverse both in terms of technological solutions and managed processes. Moreover, the market for AI applications in agriculture is expected to grow quite rapidly due to an increasing tendency to automatize agricultural production and marketing processes. This inevitably leads to substitution of physical labor with sophisticated machinery and robots. Also, it generates demand for new labor competencies needed to manage increasingly capital intensive agricultural production and related processes driven by the use of AI. Based on mainly theoretical considerations, it can be surmised that widespread use of AI in agriculture should positively contribute to the growth in the total factor productivity (TFP) of the sector. Consequently, countries where agricultural producers adopt AI solutions faster can gain competitive advantage in food production

DYNAMICS OF POLISH WHEAT PRICES IN COMPARISON TO SELECTED WORLD PRICES IN A PERIOD OF ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

Poland's market reforms implemented in 1990 should possibly result in increasing price linkages between Polish and internationally traded agricultural commodities like wheat. Using regression and cointegration analysis Polish monthly wheat prices were found to be generally unrelated to selected world prices over the period of 1990/91 through 1996/97 mainly because of Polish government's intervention