Value Chain and Price Integration in the Spanish Salted Cod Market

Abstract

The Spanish market for salted cod has undergone important transformations in recent decades. The collapse of the Newfoundland fishery dramatically reduced local processors’ access to the raw material, which previously was mainly supplied by Spanish vessels. The price of salted cod increased and processors margins decreased. By using price integration procedures, competition across commodities and countries of origin is tested, as well as price transmission to the retail level. The price series of salted cod at the retail levels are available at the panel of food consumption provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food through the Observatory of Food Prices. Import prices were collected from the quantities and values ​​imported by Spain classified by countries of origin. Results found significant price linkages at the import level and along the domestic value chain. Causal relations depend on the countries of origin and point to different competitive and bargain relations across exporters and domestic customers.Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, held July 11-15, 2016 at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK