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Article
Publication date: 22 January 2018

Gerald Oeser, Tanju Aygün, Claudia-Livia Balan, Thomas Corsten, Christian Dechêne, Rolf Ibald, Rainer Paffrath and Marcus Thomas Schuckel

The purpose of this paper is to gain a general holistic view of implications of the growing and highly relevant customer segment of elder consumers for the food demand chain (food

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain a general holistic view of implications of the growing and highly relevant customer segment of elder consumers for the food demand chain (food retail, production, logistics, and business informatics) in Germany.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper takes a holistic demand-chain approach that is based on interviews with 36 German food consumers aged 65-87 and with 50 experts from manufacturing, trade, logistics, and business informatics as well as a survey with 1,288 consumers above 64 years of age and 682 consumers below 65 years of age.

Findings

Physical, statistical, psychological, social, and behavioural characteristics of elder German consumers may influence location, services, and layout of food retail, food variety, sizes, packaging, and labelling, food production, transportation, and storage volumes and capacities, as well as facility location, route, and inventory planning. The social function of grocery shopping especially for single consumers, intergenerational products and services, home-delivery services especially to rural areas, as well as decentralisation and regionalisation are expected to gain importance. Logistics and industry 4.0 can facilitate the efficient and effective supply of food.

Originality/value

This research is the first to investigate the needs and wants of elder German food consumers and their implications for the German food demand chain in a more holistic demand-chain approach.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 46 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

De Zhou, Xiaohua Yu and Thomas Herzfeld

The purpose of this paper is to investigate dynamic food demand in urban China, with use of a complete dynamic demand system – dynamic linear expenditure system-linear approximate…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate dynamic food demand in urban China, with use of a complete dynamic demand system – dynamic linear expenditure system-linear approximate dynamic almost ideal demand system (DLES-LA/DAIDS), which pushes forward the techniques of demand analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a transitionary demand process and develop a new approach of complete demand system with a two-stage dynamic budgeting: a strongly separable DLES in the first stage and a LA/DAIDS in the second stage. Employing provincial aggregate data (1995-2010) from the China urban household surveys, The authors estimated the demand elasticities for primary food products in urban China.

Findings

The results indicate that most primary food products are necessities and price inelastic for urban households in China. The authors also found that the dynamic model tends to yield relatively smaller expenditure elasticities in magnitude than the static models do due to the friction effect of dynamic adjusting costs, such as habit formation, switching costs, and learning process. However, the dynamic effects on own price elasticities are inconclusive due to the add-up restriction.

Practical implications

The research contributes to the demand analysis methodologically, and can be used for better projections in policy simulation models.

Originality/value

This paper methodologically relaxes the restrictive assumption of instant adjustment in static models and allows consumers to make a dynamic decision in food consumption. Empirically, the authors introduce a new complete dynamic demand model and carry out a case study with the use of urban household data in China.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 December 2015

William H. Meyers and Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes

This paper assesses the projected growth of food supply relative to population growth and estimated food demand growth over the next four decades.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper assesses the projected growth of food supply relative to population growth and estimated food demand growth over the next four decades.

Methodology/approach

World population projections are analyzed for the main developed and developing regions. Implied food demand growth is then compared to grain and oilseed supply projections from a few of the most reliable sources. Three of these are 10-year projections and two extend to 2030 and 2050. To the extent possible, comparisons are made among the alternative projections. Conclusions about food availability and prices are finally drawn.

Findings

Meeting the growth in demand for food, feed, and biofuels to 2050 will not be a steep hill to climb, but there will need to be continued private and public investment in technology to induce increased production growth rates through productivity enhancements and increased purchased inputs.

Practical implications

The main food security challenge of the future, as in the present, is not insufficient production but rather increasing access and reducing vulnerability for food insecure households. The dominance of future population growth in the food insecure regions of Africa makes this challenge even more critical between now and 2050 and even more so in the years beyond 2050 when climate change effects on resource constraints will be more severe.

Details

Food Security in an Uncertain World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-213-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2017

Karen Thome, Birgit Meade, Stacey Rosen and John C. Beghin

We analyze several dimensions of food security in Ethiopia, taking into account projected population growth, economic growth, and price information to estimate future food

Abstract

We analyze several dimensions of food security in Ethiopia, taking into account projected population growth, economic growth, and price information to estimate future food consumption by income decile. The analysis looks at the potential impact of large consumer price increases on food security metrics. We use the new USDA/ERS demand-based modeling framework in order to carry out this study. The modeling approach captures economic behavior by making food demand systematically responsive to income and price changes based on a demand specification well-grounded in microeconomic foundations. The projected change in food consumption can be apportioned to population growth, income growth, and changes in food prices and real exchange rates. We found that Ethiopia is highly food insecure, with 54% of the population consuming less than 2,100 calories a day at calibration levels. Income growth under unchanged prices mitigates food insecurity with the number of food-insecure people falling to 42.5 million in 2016. If domestic prices were free to fall with world market prices, the food-insecure population would decrease farther to 36.1 million. If domestic prices increased because of domestic supply shocks and constrained imports, the food-insecure population could rise to 64.7 million. The food gap (i.e., the amount of food necessary to eliminate Ethiopia’s food insecurity) would reach 3.6 million tons. The practical implications of this are that measures of food security are sensitive to changes in prices. Maintaining higher prices when global prices are low maintains higher levels of food insecurity than would otherwise prevail. Expanded access to lower cost imports could significantly improve food security in Ethiopia.

Details

World Agricultural Resources and Food Security
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-515-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2023

Simeon Kaitibie, Arnold Missiame, Patrick Irungu and John N. Ng'ombe

Qatar, a wealthy country with an open economy has limited arable land. To meet its domestic food demand, the country heavily relies on food imports. Additionally, the over three…

Abstract

Purpose

Qatar, a wealthy country with an open economy has limited arable land. To meet its domestic food demand, the country heavily relies on food imports. Additionally, the over three year-long economic embargo enforced by regional neighbors and the covariate shock of the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated the country's vulnerability to food insecurity and potential for structural breaks in macroeconomic data. The purpose of this paper is to examine short- and long-run determinants of Qatar's imports of aggregate food, meats, dairy and cereals in the presence of structural breaks.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use 24 years of food imports, gross domestic product (GDP) and consumer price index (CPI) data obtained from Qatar's Planning and Statistics Authority. They use the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration framework and Chambers and Pope's exact nonlinear aggregation approach.

Findings

Unit root tests in the presence of structural breaks reveal a mixture of I (1) and I (0) variables for which standard cointegration techniques do not apply. The authors found evidence of a significant long-run relationship between structural changes and food imports in Qatar. Impulse response functions indicate full adjustments within three-quarters of a year in the event of an exogenous shock to imports.

Research limitations/implications

An exogenous shock of one standard deviation on this variable would reduce Qatar's food imports by about 2.5% during the first period but recover after the third period.

Originality/value

The failure of past aggregate food demand studies to go beyond standard unit root testing creates considerable doubt about the accuracy of their elasticity estimates. The authors avoid that to provide more credible findings.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2020

Debadyuti Das and Chirag Yadav

The present work attempts to determine an appropriate number of different categories of Delivery Persons for a Hyper-local Food Delivery Organization for different intervals…

1044

Abstract

Purpose

The present work attempts to determine an appropriate number of different categories of Delivery Persons for a Hyper-local Food Delivery Organization for different intervals within a day and across days within a week which would provide a satisfactory level of service to the target customers and at the same time would become cost-efficient.

Design/methodology/approach

Currently the firm estimates the required number of Delivery Persons for “lunch peak” and “dinner peak” of the next week's weekdays and weekend based on the maximum number of orders occurring during the same period of both weekdays and weekend in the current week. The proposed approach involves determining the projected demand in every four-hourly interval of both week-days and weekend in the next week. Subsequently, the study has developed a simple integer programming model for determining the optimum number of Delivery Persons based on the projected demand data.

Findings

The existing approach followed by the firm indicates that the Delivery Persons remain unutilized during periods of low demand. The proposed model demonstrated savings to the tune of 21.4% in manpower cost without any erosion in the service level.

Originality/value

The study has made three tangible contributions. First, the development of a simple methodology for estimating the demand of next period allows the Managers to utilize dynamic demand data. Second, the development of a simple integer programming model helps managers determine an appropriate number of Delivery Persons in different intervals in both weekdays and weekend. Third, the development of a framework of hiring strategy aids managers in adopting a particular hiring strategy under a particular context keeping in mind the magnitude of demand for food, demand for delivery service and the cost of providing the service.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 August 2009

Kuo S. Huang and Fred Gale

China's remarkable income growth has changed the food landscape in recent years. Chinese consumers are demanding greater food quantity and quality and changing the nutrient…

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Abstract

Purpose

China's remarkable income growth has changed the food landscape in recent years. Chinese consumers are demanding greater food quantity and quality and changing the nutrient content of their diets. Most food demand studies are based on data from earlier time periods before these structural changes had taken hold. The purpose of this paper is to show how the rapid change in food markets and surprisingly slow growth of food imports warrants a new assessment of food demand in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Engel equations measuring elasticities of food quantity and quality purchases with respect to household income are estimated. These estimates are then converted to nutrient elasticities to show how the availability of nutrients varies with income based on the Engel demand relationship.

Findings

The income elasticities diminish as income rises. Households in the top tier of the income distribution appear to have reached a saturation point in the consumption of most food items. As income rises, most additional spending is on foods with higher unit values that may reflect better cuts of meat or branded items. The pattern of food purchases for households at different income levels suggests that protein, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake rises with increased income. The change in diets prompted by rising income is most pronounced for low‐income households.

Originality/value

This paper applies a unique approach to measure income, quality, and nutrient elasticities within the same framework of Engel relationship. The finding has important implications for opening new market opportunities of imported foods and understanding dietary change in China.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2023

Lei Li, Junfei Bai and Qiubo Zhu

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of rising food prices on food demand and nutrient intake among rural–urban migrants and whether such impact varies across income…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of rising food prices on food demand and nutrient intake among rural–urban migrants and whether such impact varies across income classes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), this study adopts a quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) for food demand elasticity and an indirect estimation method for nutrient elasticity to investigate the effects of rising food prices on food demand and nutrient intake among rural–urban migrants.

Findings

The estimated results indicate that an increase in the price of pork alone would lead to a larger reduction in most nutrients among rural–urban migrants than other single targeted food group, and a simultaneous rise in the price of all food groups would have a remarkably adverse effect on the nutritional status of rural–urban migrants in comparison to the nutritional effects of a rise in one targeted food group. In addition, the nutritional effects of food prices across income classes show that the nutritional status is particularly vulnerable to rising food prices among low-income rural–urban migrants.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on analyzing the impact of rising food prices on the nutritional status of rural–urban migrants, a topic that is very limited in the literature. This study provides a fresh look at the effect of volatile food prices on food demand and nutrient intake among rural–urban migrants. The results indicate that income growth would have a remarkable positive effect on nutrient intake for rural–urban migrants, especially for low-income rural–urban migrants. However, an increment in nutrients due to a growth in income would not be far from enough to cover the reduction in nutrients as a result of a simultaneous rise in price of all the studied food categories at the same rate.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2013

Xinye Lv

This paper analyzes the factors that potentially affect grain security in China and reviews the techniques used for prediction. It reviews and compares forecasts for grain…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyzes the factors that potentially affect grain security in China and reviews the techniques used for prediction. It reviews and compares forecasts for grain security in 2020 and 2030 with the aim of making some judgments, from the perspective of grain supply and demand, about the future grain security situation in China.

Design/methodology/approach

In this article, the paper will introduce the methods and results of the forecast and also focus on the predictions for grain security in 2020 and 2030 in order to give a clear review of previous researches in this regard.

Findings

The results indicate that the traditional threats to food supply and demand in China still exist, while demand for biomass energy continues to rise. With regard to grain aggregate, the grain supply-demand balance will still be relatively tight for both 2020 and 2030. In terms of structure, grain for feed will experience increase – mainly driven by the supply of corn – adding to the unabated structural issues confronting regional grain supply and demand. In the future, therefore, China should try to preserve favorable factors that increase grain production, optimize grain structure and production, maintain the proper scale and make-up of grain imports and exports, and work for a sound global trading environment for grain.

Originality/value

This article contributes to existing literature by analyzing the factors affecting grain security in China and reviewing prediction techniques and forecasts for grain security in China in 2020 and 2030. The findings suggest that China needs to take appropriate measures to ensure future grain security.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 January 2020

Fatai Abiola Sowunmi, Oladunni Akinwande Daramola and Ishaq Adewale Tijani

The economic recession that Nigeria recently passed through caused distortions in economic and well-being of Nigerians. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The economic recession that Nigeria recently passed through caused distortions in economic and well-being of Nigerians. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the economic recession on households’ demand for basic foodstuffs in Southwest Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 380 respondents drawn from urban areas of Lagos, Osun and Oyo states using multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System were employed to analyze data collected.

Findings

The study showed sharp increase in the prices of basic foodstuffs during recession. Households were compelled to spend higher percentage of their monthly income on basic foodstuffs. Also, 51.1 percent of the respondents were government workers who experienced inconsistent or modulated monthly salary during the period. The percentage of households that were food insecure was 36.4 percent. Osun State had the highest monthly per capita expenditure (₦5,147.13) on foodstuffs, followed by Lagos and Oyo states while rice had the highest expenditure share (0.26), followed by yam (0.18), beans (0.106), vegetable oil (0.104) and garri (0.101). The breakdown also showed that 11.7, 18.1 and 17.7 percent of the total household monthly expenditures in Lagos, Osun and Oyo states, respectively, were spent on basic foodstuffs.

Research limitations/implications

There purchasing power of naira reduced significantly during recession, thus compelled households to spend more on basic foodstuffs compared to similar purchases before economic recession.

Practical implications

The reduction in purchasing power of naira affected the formal and informal sector. Irregular salary for civil servants reduced their expenditure on goods and services.

Originality/value

The study is original and topical, serving as literature of accounts that transpired among the households as far as demand for basic foodstuffs is concerned during the economic recession.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

Keywords

11 – 20 of over 58000