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  • Publication | 2021
Concentration and market power in the food chain
Global Food and Nutrition Security

Key messages

  • Downstream segments of agri-food chains (such as processing, wholesale, and retail) are usually more concentrated than farm-level production, which leads to widespread concerns over the perceived weak position of farmers in these value chains.
  • The evidence reviewed in this paper does not show systematic and large abuses of market power by other players at the expense of farmers. However, as in other sectors, there can be competition problems in specific cases.
  • There are long-term structural challenges in agriculture (such as the tendency for agricultural prices to fall over time due to productivity growth) which could be misinterpreted as competition problems. Hence, it is important to carefully evaluate the main causes of problems in the sector.
  • Many widely used indicators such as the ‘farm share of the food dollar’ provide little relevant information on whether there are competition problems. Instead, competition issues are best analysed using an in-depth study of a specific value chain, such as market studies conducted by competition authorities.