Farm share and price spread in Australia's sugar supply chain

Overview \r\n This study uses a case study approach to demonstrate the potential to estimate farm shares and price spreads in Australia using a relatively simple methodology developed by the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. In this instance, the methodology has been applied to Australian sugar price data. \r\n\r\n Key Points \r\n• The study demonstrates that data is available that allows an analysis of farm share and price spread for raw sugar exports and refined sugar sold at retail outlets. \r\n• The analysis shows that trends in farm shares of retail and export prices were relatively flat between 1984-85 and 2014-15. So too were trends in farm-to-retail and farm-to-export price spreads. \r\n• If it is assumed that the emergence of market power beyond the farm gate is likely to be reflected in changes in trends in farm share and price spread, then these results suggest that there has been no obvious change in market power within the sugar industry over this period. \r\n