The authors have carried out a research in order to analyse how the income from sold dairy products distributes among farmers, processors and retailers. The research is based on the data from the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN), Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Agriculture and Food Market Information System (ZUMPRIS) and milk processing companies. The research contains two aspects:
- assessment of price margins for liquid milk in different countries (the shares of the retail price going to each sector along the supply chain: farmer, processing and retail trade as well as government taxes;
- assessment of the distribution of the income within the market participants for the five most popular Lithuanian dairy products.
On the basis of the IFCN information about milk production in the world in 2007, data on the farmers’ share in the consumer price are analyzed. The authors have made their choice to analyse the data from reports of 38 countries (including 23 EU member states). Comparing price margins for liquid milk in Lithuania and other countries, the authors have found that the farmers’ share in the consumer price differs significantly. In 2007, the highest level was observed in India, Canada and Portugal, and the lowest level in Romania, Italy and Australia. For Lithuania, the farmers’ share in the consumer price is about 39%, the margin for the processor and the retailer being about 46% and the VAT charge about 15%. Within the EU member states, the farmers’ share in the consumer price in Lithuania is almost the same as the EU average. The grouping of countries according to special indicators (volume of production, exports, farm gate price and consumer price) has permitted to assess some general tendencies in the formation of the farmers’ share in the consumer price.
The authors have analyzed the distribution of income among the market participants for liquid milk, sour cream, butter, Tilsit and cottage cheeses. Calculating the price margins, the direct support and marketing service income has been taken into account. The results indicate that direct support slightly increases the farmers’ share, and the marketing service income slightly increases the retailers’ share in the consumer price. The farmers’ share in the consumer price for sour cream, butter and Tilsit cheese is higher than for liquid milk and cottage cheese. Since about 50% of all milk produced in Lithuania is used for the production of exportable dairy products, the analysed dairy chain permits to assess only the dairy products sold in the domestic market.
Key words: dairy supply chain margins, price margins.
Gapšys, A.; Mikelionytė, D.; Eičaitė, O. Pieno produktų vertės pasiskirstymas tarp pieno gamintojų, perdirbėjų ir prekybininkų // Žemės ūkio mokslai, 2009. T. 16. Nr. 1-2. p. 87-95, ISSN 1392-0200 (EBSCO, Central & Eastern European Academic Source, CAB Abstracts).
