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Australian
Agribusiness Review
Volume 8 - 2000
ISSN
1442-6951
Information?
or the Editors
Network
Paper 1
May 4, 2000
Invigorating
the Asian-Pacific Food Economy: APEC’S Role
Professor Kym Anderson, School of Economics
and Centre for International Economic Studies, University of Adelaide.
Abstract
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
proposed in September 1998 that APEC leaders take joint action to develop a
so-called APEC Food System to boost the food sector's contribution to the
prosperity of APEC's economies. ABAC believes aggregate food needs could be
met in a more efficient and environmentally responsible way, and in such a
way that people feel more food-secure and the poor are better off. It sees
the need for developing more extensive rural infrastructure, in terms of
both physical and human capital; for importing, adapting and adopting new
farm and food technologies; and for reducing impediments to international
food trade and investment.
In reviewing the ABAC proposal, this paper addresses the following
questions: Why is now the right time to focus on this ABAC proposal? What
would be its effects? In particular, how would food security in the region
be affected? What initiatives or actions are still required by governments,
non-government organizations and the private sector to ensure its
development? And what policy options are available for contributing and
adjusting to it? |
Paper 2
June 2, 2000
Ross Kingwell, Senior Adviser
& Visiting senior lecturer, Agriculture Western Australia &
University of Western Australia.
Abstract
Commonly when people talk of
risk they mean the possibility of loss or harm. However, strictly speaking,
this exposure to adversity is only part of risk. It is downside risk. More
generally, risk refers to a range of uncertainties (upside and downside)
that affect a person’s welfare.
Farmers faces many risks. The two most commonly mentioned risks tend to be
yield and price risk, although as mentioned later, there are several other
important sources of risk affecting farm businesses. This article
concentrates on price risk faced by broad acre farmers in Australia. |
Paper 3
June 22, 2000
Beef
Consumption in Japan: What can be learnt from Sub-National Data?
Ruth Stroppiana and
Paul Riethmuller - Department of Economics, The University of Queensland,
Brisbane.
Abstract
Japan
consists of four large islands - Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu - and
roughly 7 000 smaller islands and islets. In terms of natural terrain
and climatic conditions Japan is a diverse country. There are also
differences in the history, life styles and dietary habits of people living
in different parts of Japan. This paper investigates the relationship
between the consumption of beef and income, prices, and selected
socio-economic factors in nine Japanese regions. The analysis found that
consumption of beef at the regional level is influenced to differing degrees
by income and by the prices of substitutes. In the heavily populated Kanto
region, for example, containing the metropolises of Tokyo and Yokohama, the
demand for beef was found to be not very responsive to changes in income,
compared to the predominantly rural region of Hokkaido. This suggests that
changes in income will have a relatively small impact on beef consumption in
the Kanto region, compared to its effect on beef consumption in Hokkaido. A
more general conclusion that can be drawn from the results is that programs
designed to increase beef consumption in one part of Japan may need to be
modified for other parts of the country if this same objective is to be
achieved. |
Paper
4
August
3, 2000
Quality,
Uncertainty and Consumer Valuation of Fruits & Vegetables
Kate Owen - Research Fellow at
the University of Sydney, Vic Wright - Associate Professor with the School
of Marketing and Management at the University of New England & Garry
Griffith - Principal Research Scientist, NSW Agriculture, Armidale
Abstract
This paper reports on the
results of three studies into consumers’ perceptions of the quality of
fresh fruits and vegetables, the links with "value", and its
effect on purchase behaviour. The discussion centres on the premises that
underpin differentiation strategies, such as branding and price: quality
associations, and the necessary conditions for consumers to respond to
these. The findings suggest that producers and marketers in the
horticultural industry need to view their product through the same holistic
lens as the consumer, to find the synthesis of its attributes rather than to
treat them in isolation, which appears to have been the case. |
Paper
5
October
11, 2000
Do
Canadian Pork Imports Influence New South Wales Pigmeat Prices?
G.R.
Griffith Principal Research Scientist, NSW Agriculture Beef Centre,
Armidale, NSW and H-S (Christie) Chang, Senior Lecturer, School of Economic
Studies, University of New England, Armidale, NSW
Abstract
In September 1989 the Australian Government
announced an in-principle decision to lift the existing ban on importation
of unprocessed pork, specifically for Canadian product. The decision was
confirmed in July 1990, the formal protocols were signed soon after and
imports from Canada began arriving in August 1990. In the first year, import
levels were generally minor. However, from July 1991 there was a sustained
increase in volumes. Total imports for 1991/92 were over 4000 tonnes
compared with about 1000 tonnes for the preceding year. This increase in
imports coincided with a dramatic fall in farm prices for pigs in early
1992.
Since the late 1980s, the pig industry had been a vocal critic of the
decision to allow in Canadian imports on the grounds of possible disease
risk and that Canadian producers were heavily subsidised. The large fall in
farm prices in early 1992 heightened this concern and the Australian Pork
Corporation was instructed to prepare and submit a case for the imposition
of countervailing duties. On receipt of the submission, the Australian
Customs Service initiated a dumping and subsidy inquiry which was reported
in November 1992. |
Paper
6
October 12th, 2000
The
Anatomy of Australia's Wine Boom: Lessons for Other Industries
Kym Anderson - School of
Economics and Centre for International Economic Studies, University of
Adelaide.
Abstract
The rural sector's share of Australia's
exports has been declining for decades. Having been above 60 per cent prior
to the 1960s it was around 40 per cent in the 1970s but has been barely
above 20 per cent in the 1990s. Nonetheless, Australia's rural exports
continue to expand in aggregate value and volume terms and, within that
aggregate, some industries are doing much better than others. This raises
the question as to what can be learnt from the successful cases.
There is no more spectacular success story than the wine industry during the
past decade or so. Nor is there a better time than now to improve the rural
sector's export performance, for a number of reasons. Firstly there is an
increasing demand for a greater variety of products as incomes grow
globally. That is manifesting itself in, among other things, growth in
demand for a wider range of exotic foods from foreign countries. One
consequence is a rise in the share of processed food in global agricultural
and processed food exports: that share rose from one-third in the 1960s to
one-half in the 1970s, and it is now around three-fifths. Specialization in
production and intra-industry trade between countries in processed food
(including beverages) is likely to continue to grow with incomes and with
consumer exposure to exotic foods through travel, providing expanding
opportunities for value-added rural exports
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Paper
7
October
12th, 2000
Cooperation
in Tropical North Queensland’s Nature-Based Tourism Industry
Twan Huybers, University of New
South Wales and Jeff Bennett Australian National University.
Abstract
In this paper, the results of a survey of nature based tourism operators in
Tropical North Queensland are presented. While operators compete with each
other for the business of the tourists who visit the region, they cooperate
in their collective competition with other tourism destinations. The paper
documents the historical development of competition and cooperation in the
region’s tourism industry. It also discusses the areas of cooperation
between tourism business operators. The two major areas of cooperation are
destination promotion and activities regarding environmental protection. |
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