There exists a large literature on price transmission in agro‐food sectors. However, a great majority of empirical studies focus on the existence of asymmetry and, by and large, do not investigate the reason for its presence or absence. This is in sharp contrast to the theoretical literature that provides a number of explanations of why we should expect (a)symmetry. In response, this paper investigates the reasons for asymmetric price transmission in the agro‐food chain, using meta‐analysis of existing studies. Our focus is on the organizational and institutional characteristics of the agro‐food supply chain. Our findings suggest that asymmetric price transmission in farm–retail relationships is more likely to occur in sectors/countries with more fragmented farm structure, higher governmental support and more restrictive regulations on price controls in the retail sector. On the other hand, more restrictive regulations on entry barriers in the retail sector and the relative importance of the sector tend to promote symmetric farm–retail price transmission. The latter is also more likely in the presence of a strong processing industry.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse how farm production and input use (land, variable inputs, labour, and capital) is related to farm access to credit in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) transition countries. Design/methodology/approach -Drawing on a unique farm level panel data set with 37,409 observations and employing a matching estimator, this paper analyses how farm access to credit affects farm input allocation and farm efficiency in the CEE transition countries. The large size of the FADN data set has an additional advantage. It allows the authors to employ a semi-parametric estimator based on the propensity score matching. Using more than 37,409 observations assures that the loss in efficiency of semi-parametric estimates, as compared to parametric ones, is not a problem. This is important for at least two reasons. First, applying a semi-parametric propensity score matching (PSM) estimator allows to control for any heterogeneity in the relationship between farm performance and their observable characteristics (in particular access to credit). Second, matching estimators are robust in situations where farms having access to credit systematically differ from those that do not. Findings -It is found that farms are asymmetrically credit constrained between inputs. The use of variable inputs and capital investment increases up to 2.3 percent and 29 percent, respectively, per 1,000 EUR of additional credit. The authors' estimates suggest also that farm access to credit increases the total factor productivity up to 1.9 percent per 1,000 EUR of additional credit, indicating that an improved access to credit results in adjusting the relative input intensities on farms. This finding is further supported by a negative effect of better access to credit on labour, suggesting that these two are substitutes. Interestingly, farms are found not to be credit constrained with respect to land. Originality/value -To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present paper is the first to investigate the importance of access to credit for farm performance in the CEE region as a whole.

Purpose While it is commonly argued that food supply chains are characterized by severe imbalances of power between contracting parties, there is an insufficient understanding of the factors affecting the negotiating position of farmers. The purpose of this paper is to provide quantitative evidence documenting the position of farmers and to explain variation in farm gate prices in the dairy supply chain by using unique micro-survey data from Poland. Design/methodology/approach The bargaining power of farmers is elicited from their self-reported assessment about how confident they feel in their relationships with both the processing industry and input suppliers. Findings Using econometric modelling, it is shown that farmers who perceive themselves as having a relatively “strong position” in the food chain receive a higher milk price from dairy companies. Research limitations/implications While this result comes with some caveats, it suggests that the self-reported beliefs farmers hold about relations with their contractors may reveal additional insights into the distribution of power throughout the food chain. Originality/value Compared to the existing studies, the paper offers two innovations. First, to construct a proxy for farmers’ bargaining power, their subjective opinion on how easy they could be substituted for by their contractors is used. In effect, the paper goes beyond the standard measures which focus on farm size or its location. Second, it investigates farmers’ relationships vis-à-vis both processing industry and input suppliers. Consequently, this paper is the first to analyze power relationships by explicitly taking into account three stages of the supply chain.

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Profound changes have been taking place in the Polish dairy sector since the beginning of transition. Two distinct features have attracted particular attention, namely growing consolidation of the downstream industries and serious farm fragmentation. Consequently, in the debate numerous concerns have been expressed that the sector's restructuring has been proceeding, so to speak, at farmers' expense. Most frequently farmers' relatively weak bargaining position, compared with that of processors and retailers, has been blamed for this state of affairs. Up to now, however, no convincing evidence has been provided that these arguments really hold. This article aims at verifying the above view by examining the mechanism of price transmission. To put the problem in a theoretically consistent, structural equation setting, an approach using exogenous demand and supply shifters is followed. The analysis is couched in a vector error correction model framework. The results suggest that price transmission between farm and retail levels is affected by both short-run and long-run asymmetries. Moreover, behaviour of prices in the fluid milk sector in Poland is consistent with the use of market power by the downstream sector.