The small-scale pepper producers in the El Roble settlement Costa Rica face a monopsonistic market. Only one processing firm is buying the fresh pepper bunches. The processor has all bargaining power to decide on the price paid to the farmers and the quality selection criteria. The rejection...

This report analyzes the economic impact of price fixing in the wet corn milling industry on consumers in the State of Michigan. Two of the companies who produce citric acid have pleaded guilty to fixing its price. In this report we assume that price fixing also occurred among HFCS producers....

The acceptance of the NAFTA and GATT trade agreements will impact the U.S. peanut industry. This paper examines trade distorting policies and evaluates the effects of trade liberalization on peanut producers, shellers, manufactures, and U.S. consumers of peanut products. Decreasing marketing...

This paper addresses the question of whether the export demand for soybeans and soybean products changed structurally over the 1950 to 1992 period as the U.S. agricultural sector became more integrated with the rest of the world economy. The results suggest that export demands were stable for...

This paper conducts several analyses to discuss about consumers' preference of rice brands and suggest a way to reduce the number that currently stands at about 1,700 in the Korean market. With data collected from 358 survey respondents, a conjoint analysis was conducted to identify consumers'...

The interconnections of agriculture and energy markets have increased through the rise in the new biofuel agribusinesses and the oil–ethanol–corn linkages. The question is whether these linkages have a causal structure by which oil prices affect commodity prices and through these links,...

Several Caribbean sugar producing countries are actively looking for viable alternatives to recover some of the expected lost revenues due to the WTO (World Trade Organization) ruling that sugar subsidies in the European Union (EU) are illegal. One alternative worth considering is exporting...

Interlocked relationships are characterised by traders’ supply of inputs and cash to producers oncredit, to be reimbursed at sale time based on pre-defined prices which are often lower than theprevailing market price. The study analyses determinants of choice for interlocking in the gum...

Market-based instruments (MBIs) for resource management create financial incentives for people and businesses to use resources more efficiently, within a regulatory context designed to ensure that ecological, social and cultural objectives are also met. Three case studies were done to identify...

This article tests the efficiency of the hog options market and assesses the impact of the 1996 contract redesign on efficiency. We find that the hog options market is efficient, but some options yielded excess returns during the live hogs period but not during the lean hogs period. Our findings...