Journal of Rural Problems
Online ISSN : 2185-9973
Print ISSN : 0388-8525
ISSN-L : 0388-8525
Volume 25, Issue 4
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
  • Report of the 39th Annual Meeting of the Kansai Agricultural Economic Society
    Tadao Horita
    1989 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 157
    Published: December 25, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: September 05, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Chikuji Fujitani
    1989 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 158-167,197
    Published: December 25, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: September 05, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    1. In order to approach to the given subject, I limit my discussion to “marketing” structure in relation to the discussion of the other three speakers. I also limit the object of my analysis to fruits and vegetables as typical agricultural consumer goods in Japan.
    2. One of the fundamental features of marketing structure of agriculture commodities is that most of them are marketed through wholesale markets. One of the principal functions of wholesale markets is that of compound physical transit, namely its function of subdividing into physical marketing lots, in addition to the function of keeping a rich assortment of items and of matching demand and supply of every item of every different commercial value. The other function is that of price discovery(defined by F. L. Thomsen). Such features of the marketing structure are also affected by fundamental conditions of agricultural marketing: (a) conditions of production and supply; (b) conditions of consuming and purchasing; and (c) physical featuresof merchandise.
    3. The main aspects of changing agricultural marketing structure are (1) the development of cooperative marketing, (2) the expansion of the share of supermarkets, and (3) emerging problems of wholesale markets. These changes have been caused by the changes not only of fundamental conditions of agricultural marketing but also of general condition of marketing ((d) the spread structure of population, (e) conditions of physical marketing, and (f) conditions of labor supply in marketing industry), especially by those factors of (a), (b), (e), and (f).
    4. The share of marketing amount of fruit and vegetables through wholesale markets has not yet declined. One of the reasons for this is the advancement of the establishment of central wholesale markets in almost every large city in every prefecture. Another reason is the constraint on the marketing through outside of wholesale markets due to skyrocketing land prices in and around big cities. But there exists a possibility for increased marketing through outside of wholesale markets, because the current transaction system of wholesale markets cannot fully correspond to rapid and structural changes in both agricultural and general marketing conditions. Therefore, it appears beneficial for farmers that the wholesale market system shonld be reformed to more flexible and freer transaction system.
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  • Yoshiaki Masuda
    1989 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 168-176,197
    Published: December 25, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: September 05, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Since World War II Japanese diet has been extremely changed. Till the middle of 1970's, the principal change was that of their eating materials. For example, the consumption of meat increased rapidly, whereas that of rice declined. Since then, the important change was an increase in “cooked foods” and “eating out”. It is called “the externality of dietary life” and “the dependenee on non-home-made food.”
    This paper investigates “the externality and the dependence” and its influences to the food supply in Japan. The major results of its analysis are as follows:
    (1) Food expenditure of spending on “cooked foods” and “eating out” sharply increased and formed 24 percent of the total food expenditure in 1988.
    (2) Share for materialistic foods which need processing in household has declined from 73 percent of total spending on food in 1965 to 57 percent in 1988.
    (3) Dietary life in dishes has also changed. Dishes simple and easy to cook tend to be preferred, and dishes which take time to cook have been substituted by “cooked foods.” Also, home-made dishes have now come to depend upon varieties of food materials.
    (4) In case of vegetables, due to the changes in consumption the supply for business use has increased, whereas the supply for home consumption has varied in species.
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  • Eiichi Katsura
    1989 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 177-185,198
    Published: December 25, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: September 05, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The aim of this paper is to indicate the past, present and future of fruit and vegetables marketing in Janan.
    Agricultural cooperatives mainly lead the fruit and vegetables marketing but the share of cooperatives in frult is a little bit decreasing recently. Fruit and vegetables marketing is basically carried out by primary cooperatives, while the federation of prefectural cooperatives coordinates and supports them.
    In addition to shipment expense-saving strategy, supply adjustment strategy rose at one time but nowadays the commercial value improvement strategy is more emphasized to meet consumers' expectations. Furthermore, whether through wholesale market route or not, vertical cordination with buyers is spreading gradually.
    The market structure of fruit and vegetables possesses characteristics of many sellers and lack of product differentiation. Concentration degree of buyers will rise as the share of supermarket goes up.
    Therefore, orderly marketing, improvement of commercial value, sales promotion and shipment expense-saving are important factors for the competitive strategy, while horizontal cooperation, reduction of information gap and strength of transaction continuation power are important factors for the bargaining strategy for fruit and vegetables marketing.
    These strategies must be executed totally. Improvement of commercial value, bargaining power and sales promotion are especially important because the level of consumption and the share of supermarkets are rising and internationalization is developing.
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  • Masao Takahashi
    1989 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 186-194,198
    Published: December 25, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: September 05, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This paper aims to examine the changes in the Japanese food chain with particular reference to the inter-relation between food industries and domestic agriculture. The consumption of processed foods and food services as a percentage of all food consumption has increased from 41% in 1955 to 63% in 1988. Therefore, the length of food chain, that is distances from the upperstream of farmers' production to the downstream of consumers' final food consumption is being extended.
    The farmers' share of the final price has decreased from 40% in 1960 to 20% in 1985, whereas the share of final food price to food manufactures, food distributors, food services and food imports has increased from 60% in 1960 to 80% in 1985. To consider the food supply for the consumer, the roles of these food industries has grown more important.
    So, we propose to expand the studies of agricultural economics to the studies of food economics, and to expand the object of study from agriculture to food chain.
    Looking at the increasing recent food imports under the economic industrialization, we can point out the probrem of mismatch in Japanese food chain. Although the increases in processed food and food services consumption, Japanese farmers produce rice and fresh groceries mainly. In Japan, the raw materials of food manufactures and food services are offered by products below some certain standard for fresh groceries market, or the products from overproductions. So, firms of food manufactures and food services have raised thier raw materials imports, as yen rate has appreciated in the 1980's.
    If Japanese farmers continue this attitude, Japanese food chain will be cut off, and agriculture in Japan will be reduced. Today's subject of Japanese agriculture and food industries is to correct this mismatch of food chain.
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  • Raizo Imai
    1989 Volume 25 Issue 4 Pages 195-196
    Published: December 25, 1989
    Released on J-STAGE: September 05, 2011
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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