Year 2016, Volume 1, Issue 2

Year : 2016
Volume : 1
Issue : 2
   
Authors : Erika QUENDLER, Franz SINABELL
Title : FARMERS’ SHARE OF MONEY SPENT ON FOOD IN AUSTRIA
Abstract : There has been renewed interest in the farmer’s share of retail food sales recently, in the wake of sharp fluctuations in farm-gate or retail prices. Statistics on farmers’ shares were already being developed decades ago and recent updates are a response to these fluctuations. We define the farm share as the average portion from each monetary unit spent on food by consumers that is received by farmers for their agricultural commodities. The same calculation gives the marketing margin, which is the remainder. Calculations show that the farmer's share from retail food sales has been on the decline for more than 60 years. Therefore, the gap between farmers’ share and marketing margin is widening. This paper presents (i) the development of the farmers’ share for Austria mainly for the period 1995 to 2013 and, where data is available, from 1971 onwards and(ii) compares the results with the developments in Germany and the United States as well as Switzerland. For Austria, two calculation methods are shown: the Agristat method (developed in Switzerland) and the method of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). Both calculations are based on official statistical data (Economic Accounts for Agriculture, National Accounts and trade data) but use different approaches. This paper uses the findings of these calculations to hypothesize on necessary areas for future research.
For citation : Quendler, E., Sinabell, F. (2016). Farmers’ share of money spent on food in Austria. AGROFOR International Journal, Volume 1. Issue No. 2. pp. 54-60. DOI:10.7251/AGRENG1602054Q
Keywords : farm-to-retail price spread, farmers’ share, marketing margin, Austria
   
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