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How connected are Chinese farmers to retail markets? New evidence of price transmission

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  • Liu, Bo
  • Keyzer, Michiel
  • van den Boom, Bart
  • Zikhali, Precious

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which Chinese farmers are connected to regional agricultural markets by looking at the intensity of price transmission from retail markets to the farmgate. This intensity is indicative of the extent to which farmers might benefit from improved marketing opportunities and be exposed to price risks. We estimate the elasticity of farmgate prices to retail prices using price data for 170 markets, in 29 out of 33 provinces of China, at the detail of 12 main products and for the five-year period 1996 to 2000. In each province we find strong linkages between retail and farmgate prices with elasticities ranging between 0.6 and 1 and intensifying over time. This suggests that Chinese farmers are generally well connected to retail markets and that this connectivity has strengthened in the period considered, creating not only new opportunities but also new risks. It is also found that linkages are relatively weak in inland provinces, which is a point of concern in view of Chinese policies to create equal opportunities and equitable growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Bo & Keyzer, Michiel & van den Boom, Bart & Zikhali, Precious, 2012. "How connected are Chinese farmers to retail markets? New evidence of price transmission," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 34-46.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:34-46
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2011.07.010
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    Cited by:

    1. Jian Li & Jean‐Paul Chavas & Chongguang Li, 2022. "The dynamic effects of price support policy on price volatility: The case of the rice market in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(2), pages 307-320, March.
    2. Taoyuan Wei & Solveig Glomsrød & Tianyi Zhang, 2017. "Extreme weather, food security and the capacity to adapt – the case of crops in China," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 523-535, June.
    3. Jing You, 2014. "Dietary change, nutrient transition and food security in fast-growing China," Chapters, in: Raghbendra Jha & Raghav Gaiha & Anil B. Deolalikar (ed.), Handbook on Food, chapter 9, pages 204-245, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Bargawi, H. & Newman, S.A., 2013. "From futures markets to the farm-gate," ISS Working Papers - General Series 50215, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    5. Brockhaus, Jan & Huang, Jikun & Hu, Jiliang & Kalkuhl, Matthias & von Braun, Joachim & Yang, Guolei, 2015. "Rice, wheat, and corn supply response in China," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205988, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Flaig, Dorothee & Stone, Susan & van Tongeren, Frank, 2014. "Global Value Chains and the Cost of Protection: Insights from the New OECD Trade Model," Conference papers 332508, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    7. Mhd Ruslan, Siti Marsila & Mokhtar, Kasypi, 2020. "An Analysis of Price Disparity: Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 54(2), pages 53-66.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; Farmgate prices; Agriculture; Price transmission;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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