Transformation of the Agri-food System in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States

This book offers a coherent perspective on the transition to a market-based agri-food system in the Central and Eastern European Countries and the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union. It provides a formal analysis of the entire food chain from farm inputs to final consumers including imports and exports. Major components of the agribusiness sector (inputs, farm-level marketing, processing, distribution and retailing) are all dealt with in separate chapters. In addition there is coverage of food security, multinationals, commercial law, finance and building market institutions. Theoretical chapters are devoted to problems concerning prices, transactions costs and bilateral monopoly. This theoretical discussion gives an in depth discussion of the difficulties underlying the process of transition to a market-based agri-food system and forms a consistent focus for the book as a whole. Overall, the book makes a highly original contribution to the literature on this topical subject and will be indispensable for agricultural and food economists, as well as general economists and others interested in the topic of economies in transition.