Although consumer diets are being upgraded globally, food purchase patterns vary across countries based on income levels. Developing countries are registering rapid increases in retail sales of high-value foods, while developed countries are seeing a rise in sales of products that meet consumer...

Econometric analysis of price data indicates that the new beef grading standards adopted in early 1976 have accomplished one of their major objectives--the price differentials between quality-yield grade combinations have widened, but the overall demand for beef has not been affected.

Nontraditional stores, including mass merchandisers, supercenters, club warehouse stores, and dollar stores, have increased their food offerings over the past 15 years and often promote themselves as lower priced alternatives to traditional supermarkets. How much lower are food prices at these...

This report examines the ways that fuel prices are transmitted to wholesale produce prices via transportation costs. Specifically, it focuses on marketing costs for asparagus,cantaloupes, table grapes, oranges, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Results of the study indicate that transportation costs...

Over the past 10 years, the growth of nontraditional retail food outlets has transformed the food market landscape, increasing the variety of shopping and food options available to consumers, as well as price variation in retail food markets. This report focuses on these dynamics and how they...

Significant changes in vertical coordination of the U.S. broiler industry many years ago may provide useful insight into the rapid changes occurring in today's pork industry. Under production contracts and vertical integration, the broiler industry developed and grew into the leader in U.S. meat...

The U.S. dairy industry, many segments of which supported dairy policy changes in the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act, is much different than it was 20 or even 10 years ago. This report provides a historical overview of the industry, more detailed examinations of the fluid...

Retail consolidation, technological change in production and marketing, and growing consumer demand for produce have altered the traditional market relationships between producers, wholesalers, and retailers. Increasingly, produce suppliers are asked to provide additional marketing services and...

Will increasing the minimum wage increase food prices as well? This study shows that a simulated $0.50 increase in the minimum wage, if entirely passed on to consumers, would have increased food prices by less than 1 percent for most of the foods at foodstores and by 1 percent at eating and...