We study the structure and performance of the coffee export sector in Ethiopia, Africa’s most important coffee producer, over the period 2003 to 2013. We find an evolving policy environment leading to structural changes in the export sector, including an elimination of vertical integration for...

This paper examines the impact of the recent high taxation policy on Anatolian wine production as well as the value added loss from the use of grapes for non-wine consumption. The results clearly indicate that the high taxation policy is significantly reducing the wine production in Turkey. The...

In 1985, the Commission chaired by Judge Klopper reported on the illegal import into South Africa of chardonnay clones, which turned out not to be chardonnay but auxerrois, an inferior cultivar (variety). This paper examines the Evidence before and the Report of the Commission, and the political...

Weather derivatives are a relatively new form of financial security that can provide firms with the ability to hedge against the impact of weather related risks to their activities. Participants in the energy industry have employed standardized weather contracts trading on organized exchanges...

We study whether quality assessments made by wine experts and by consumers (based on prices obtained at auction between 1980 and 1992), can be explained by variables describing endowments (land characteristics, exposures of vineyards) and technologies (from grape varieties and picking, to...

Econometric demand and supply models of agricultural commodities and crops have been around for a long time with extensive research and adaptations being made in the grain and livestock sectors. This much attention has, however, not been afforded to long term commodities. This paper presents a...