Can Processing Bring about Lower Retail Beef Prices?

Abstract

While the economy in general depends mainly on productive capital, the beef sector is still dominated by commercial capital. The greatest asset of this marketing system is its adaptability; in its quest for higher profits it attempts to adjust production to demand more closely, while leaving producers great freedom in their choice of production systems. This arrangement is, however, full of speculative elements and has constantly been subject to government controls and interventions in order to attain a ‘fair’ price. Marketing rationalisation policies have improved the productivity of the marketing agents. Thus, in 1976, in France, the consumers expenses were divided as follows in Table 1.