Institutional food buyers in the U.S. are increasingly demanding food products that are safe, traceable, healthier, local/regional, or sustainably produced and supplied. These markets consist of schools, universities, hospitals, charities, correction facilities, clubs and other similar...

In this paper we present results from a study on the use of improved coffee production technology schemes among smallholder coffee producers in three prominent coffee producing regions in Honduras. We analyze the impact of various schemes (trajectories) in which different agents influence the...

This paper investigates the effect of information flow on corn futures price variability for the period January 2004 -July 2011. The theoretical framework is the Mixture Distribution Hypothesis, that posits a joint dependence of return volatility and information. The main contribution of this...

In the biotechnology sector small R&D intensive firms play a fundamental role to keep innovation rates high. With less bureaucratic burdens, low level of hierarchy and high internal flexibility they are able to move fast and to make most efficient use of unique competences. Still their shortage...

Product labeling is an important dimension in food retailing. The evolution of Protected Geographic Indicators (PGI) and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in the European Union are used to identify products grown in a specific region or food products produced using a specific technology. The...

Consumer oriented marketing concept appeared to be effective in accordance to the shift from the traditional marketing approach to the modern marketing approach. This process brings about the concept of customer value in retail food sector as it is the case in other sectors. The rise in number...

The “fruit trade chain” is a commonly accepted term used in the industry to describe the system of trading fresh fruit. The fruit trade chain includes procurement, production, packaging, shipment and delivery to the consumer. Within this chain, numerous components are involved: picking,...

Although the Chinese market is traditionally characterized by a gastronomic culture which is profoundly different from its Western counterpart, the emerging social classes is expressing a growing demand for processed food, opening up to foreign influences, which are neither accepted with...

On the agricultural market, like any other market, there are transaction costs such as “discovering what the relevant prices are, the costs of negotiating and concluding a separate contract for each exchange transaction1”, and others. According to our research the average level of...

Producing products of recognised and differentiated quality entails a competitive advantage for agro-food agents since consumers are increasingly demanding high-quality food and control in the production process as a whole in a transparent and verifiable manner. Certification of products and...