Competition, market power, surplus creation and rent distribution in agri-food value chains

Abstract

This paper reviews competition issues in agro-food value chains, including forms of governance and organization, concentration and market power and private standards implications. The paper discusses different value chains in food and agriculture and analyses how services and technologies are embedded in the final value and assesses the share of the different value chain segments. It analyses the nature of competition along the value chain and the interactions of participants; how market power can generate rents and alter welfare distribution along the chain; market structure considerations including examples of bargaining power, contractual arrangements and other manifestations of market power, including examples on the role of private standards and related welfare effects.