Economic analysis of winter vegetable markets in Tunisia

The rapid development of the non-traditional winter vegetable industry in Tunisia has resulted frequently in domestic market saturation and depressed prices. Frequent complaints suggest that the existing pricing system has served poorly in guiding the quantity, quality, and kind of production as well as the distribution of the product in form, space and time. The overall objective of this study is to develop market information essential for guiding public and individual production and marketing decision makers in this industry. The first task of the study was to analyze the working of winter vegetable markets in Tunisia and evaluate their performance. The second task was to analyze price and quantity movements over time of some selected winter vegetables and to explain the relationship between prices and the level of supply and demand for winter tomatoes. The analysis of market structure and conduct has found that the industry is still entirely oriented toward the internal market. The few vegetable exports have not generally emerged as the result of either systematic analysis of the market opportunities by producers and a deliberate long-term export plan, or a correspondingly careful evaluation of the production and marketing resources. Wholesale markets have been the largest outlet for these crops and market exchange has been the most important mechanism of vertical coordination between various units of this industry. Competitive behavior has prevailed at all stages of the various marketing channels. Performance analysis found evidence of efficiency in the existing scale and methods of operation of the various firms. However, spatial price data suggested that prices in major markets are not linked precisely by transfer costs. Intermarket arbitage cannot be made instantaneously because of conditions related to the specific structure and conduct of these markets, to the type of trade arrangements, and to the nature of the products. The analysis of price movements over time showed that prices have fluctuated sharply between one month and another and between successive years reflecting substantial changes in supply and demand conditions. The supply and demand analysis for winter tomatoes established demand relationships that linked per capita consumption of tomatoes to its own price, to per capita income and to the month of the year. The procedure also showed convincing evidence that supply response for tomatoes is a function of expected price ratio of cucumber over tomato prices. Vegetable growers were found to react not to last year's prices but rather to the price they expect and this expected price depends only to a certain extent on the level of last year's prices.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Agricultural economics (MU)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Columbia

Year dc:date.issued

1985

Author dc:creator

• Omezzine, Abdallah

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rhodes, V. James

Statement dc:rights

• OpenAccess.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32469/10355/98885

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/98885