Markets and chains

Business economic information and market data, knowledge of power relations, competition and price-making; within Wageningen Economic Research we have a wealth of data that can be interlinked to provide unique insights. This market intelligence data is deployed to support companies in making policy and investment decisions.

EU agro-food markets and chains: beef meat, veal meat, pig meat, poultry meat, eggs, sheep meat, goat meat, milk, butter, cheese, casein, milk powder, drinking milk, wheat, oilseeds, barley, maize, rye, oats, triticale, rice, rapeseed, sunflower seed, soya bean.

International agro-food markets and chains: fish, cacao, coffee and tea, vegetables and fruit, soy, palm oil, cotton and wood.

Research for industry and Business (examples):Market study for food processing industry (in English), Life Cycle Assessment of agro-food chains (upcoming), Price forecasts (contact us)
Research for National and European Governments (examples): Societal impacts of food (in Dutch), Competitiveness of the EU poultry meat sector, Profit analysis in animal product supply chains
Short workshops and trainings (examples): Earning money with pig production, cereals and oil seeds value chain, potato value chain, more in progress (contact us)

Do you have a question about markets and chains? Ask our expert: IV (Irina) Verweij-Novikova PhD

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Do you have a question about markets and chains? Ask our coordinator: PAJ (Arjen) Daane MM BSc

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Chains in numbers

Projects

Value Chain Dynamics

Feeding 9 billion people in a safe, sustainable and economically viable way is one of today’s biggest tasks for agrifood chains. Only sustainable value chains that deliver added value will have a future.

Companies cannot respond to these global developments by themselves, so good cooperation among all parties within the chain is necessary.

Wageningen Economic Research supports you in developing new and improving and innovating existing value chains. From novel protein markets and consumer acceptance in feed and food to blockchain technology and economic feasibility that enable you to make the shift towards value networks, we deliver independent, refreshing insights that you can apply immediately to your company’s strategy.

Presentation: Novel protains - Upscaling & market acceptance challenges
Eating insects: how to convince consumers
Making the food chain blockchain-ready
Developing new business models
Stakeholder interaction for social innovation
Large scale seaweed cultivation can pave the way for the transition from agriculture to mariculture

Market Outlooks

Reliable information about current and future developments is essential for important company and policy decisions. Our studies make combined use of our in-depth expertise in agrofood supply chains and markets and our databases and models. We are involved in the preparation of global market forecasts for milk, meat, grain and oil seeds (DG AGRI). For each EU Member State we estimate developments in production and consumption during the coming 10 years. Our estimates contribute to the provision of insights into developments in major food markets.

Mapping the societal effects of food

Food production and food consumption have both favourable and unfavourable consequences for incomes, the climate, labour/child labour and human health. In cooperation with True Price, we have mapped the societal consequences of food production and their magnitude. This information assists companies in the improvement of their products and government agencies in their formulation of an agenda for sustainability consultations with industry. Consumers also want to know more about the products in their shopping basket. These studies provide companies and government agencies an insight into what transparency entails, the willingness of consumers to pay and the distribution of costs and benefits in the chain. Our studies contribute to transparency throughout the chain.

Press release report “Societal effects of food” (in Dutch)
Download full report in Dutch (with summary in English)

Breakdown of the consumer euro

The average size of companies in the chain varies. Companies compete on market share and margins, but cooperate in the achievement of shared objectives. Competition encourages innovation, efficiency and a varied and affordable range of products. However, differences in the size of companies in the chain can result in unequal negotiation positions and, as a result, can give cause to concern about the effects on smaller parties in the chain. We studied price transmissions in eight Dutch food chains, when we reviewed whether the price paid by the consumer has an effect on the price paid to the farmer. Our work contributes to transparent food chains.

Price formation of food (in Dutch only)

Reduction of food waste

We waste 1.3 billion tonnes of food around the world every year. The EU-28 Member States waste 25% of their purchases of food. As wastage is detrimental to food security, sustainability and company profits, the inefficiency in the value chains that is the root of the wastage problem needs to be addressed urgently. We assist in tackling this inefficiency by examining the impact of food wastage on the supply chains and proposing solutions for its reduction. The various parties in the chain need each other to combat food wastage in their chain. They can achieve this by changes to products, the organisation of the chain, technology or marketing. We bring the parties together in taking initiatives and support them in the joint rollout. Our work contributes to the reduction of wastage. More info:

Insights into food chains in developing countries

The countries around the equator will account for the majority of the increase in the world's population and in incomes during the coming decades. The residents of rural areas are also migrating to urban areas. These two developments are resulting in a greatly increasing demand for other foods and in the reorganisation of the food chain. The DG Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) has commissioned a number of research institutes, including WUR, to map the social, economic and sustainability elements of 30 food chains in developing countries. Our studies contribute to the development of sustainable food chains in developing countries

Integrated agrofood systems and policies

Go to the research topic Integrated agrofood systems and policies