ABSTRACT

This book analyzes the economics of the food industry at every stage between the farm gate and the kitchen counter.

Central to the text are agricultural marketing problems such as the allocation of production between competing products (such as fresh and frozen markets), spatial competition, interregional trade, optimal storage, and price discrimination.

Topics covered will be useful to students who expect to have careers such as food processing management, food sector buying or selling, restaurant management, supermarket management, marketing/advertising, risk management, and product development. The focus is on real world-relevant skills and examples and on intuition and economic understanding above mathematical sophistication, although the text does draw on the nuances of modern economic theory.

chapter 1|3 pages

The basics of the food industry

chapter 2|17 pages

Cost economics for processing plants

chapter 3|13 pages

Pricing economics for food processors

chapter 4|13 pages

Trade among regions

chapter 5|11 pages

The economics of storage

chapter 6|12 pages

Plant location and size decisions

chapter 7|8 pages

Risk management

chapter 8|13 pages

The economics of the marketing sector

chapter 9|14 pages

Price discrimination

chapter 10|17 pages

Imperfect competition and game theory

chapter 11|10 pages

Spatial competition

chapter 12|21 pages

The food service industry

chapter 13|11 pages

Food retailers

chapter 14|11 pages

Launching a new product