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Impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the agro-food industry and rural livelihoods in Serbia
113-118Views:145Sixty-five per cent of the Serbian land area is agricultural and 55% of the population is rural.Agriculture share of GDP is more than 10% and about 47% of the rural labour force deals with agriculture. The aim of this work is to analyse the impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the Serbian agro-food sector and rural communities. Measures introduced, mainly by public institutions, for relieving the consequences of the crisis are presented and discussed. Easily accessible yet high quality data from the central Office of Statistics in Serbia and specialized literature have been used. Impacts have been assessed by analyzing and discussing the trends of many socio-economic indicators. The crisis has had general impacts on the Serbian economy (low GDP growth, unemployment increase, price volatility, purchasing power decrease, etc.). Due to the crisis growth in agricultural production has been very low (0.1% in 2009). Agro-food exports decreased dramatically in 2008. About 9000 agricultural jobs were lost in 2008 and 2009. Reduced exports and lower domestic demand impacted negatively on agricultural commodity prices and agricultural household incomes.Access to credit became more difficult especially for small producers. However, agriculture is still a very important safety net. Agricultural employment share has increased both for men and women. The importance of agriculture is even higher if we consider the “grey agricultural economy”. To mitigate the crisis effects, the Government provided subsidies to rural people and will adopt the National Strategic Plan and Programme for Rural Development. Nevertheless, public institutions - in partnership with private, civil society and international organisations - should improve rural producers’ access to market information and credits and foster investments in rural areas including non-agricultural ones and those aiming at improving physical capital.
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Estimation of Armington elasticities: case of vegetables in Mongolia
Views:200Mongolian people often consume meat more than vegetable in diet due to traditional nomadic culture. Nowadays, the Mongolian people’s diet has been changing who consume more vegetables with associated urbanization (half of the population live in urban areas, mostly in the capital city). Even though vegetable consumption has been increased recently, the vegetable market is still a high reliance on imports and threatening national food security. Since 2016, the Mongolian government has especially paid attention to increasing vegetable's domestic production and substitution to import vegetables (Ministry of food and Agriculture, 2017). Therefore, this paper provided to substitution elasticity (the Armington elasticity) between import vegetables and domestic vegetables in Mongolia. Additionally, we estimated the home bias value of vegetables. The so-called Armington elasticities are widely used for computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis, which determines a degree of substitution between import goods and domestically produced goods. Several of the authors studied Armington elasticities at the product level. We choose six vegetables (such as potato, garlic and onion, tomato, carrot and turnips, cabbage, and cucumber) related to lack of information. The empirical result shows that the Armington elasticities in the long-run higher than the short-run with exception of potato which means that products are similar in the long-run. However, our estimated Armington elasticities are quite lower than the previous studies result which means that Mongolian people indicated more prefer home growing vegetables than import vegetables. Moreover, we found that the home bias value is high in the short-run even long -run, this appears to be a higher relative weight on home vegetables.
JEL code: F13, Q17, Q18
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Integrated agribusiness in the dairy industry of Ukraine: main characteristics and success factors
59-68Views:138Ukraine belongs to the TOP 20 global producers of milk. Despite its position, the Ukrainian dairy industry is suffering from a permanent deficit of raw milk supplied for processing. on average, in 2007–2011 over half of the produced raw milk did not reach the processors. one of the reasons behind this lasting trend is that the structure of initial production of raw milk is dominated by households (having a share of 80%); the latter produce milk mostly for their own consumption and leftovers are sold at marketplaces where they can get more attractive prices. nevertheless, already today we observe results of largescale investments into the industrial production of milk made in the last few years. This article stresses an important place of the dairy industry in the agriculture of Ukraine, as it provides the population of vital food products, many of which are strategic in the export potential. Authors present essential characteristics of the concepts “agro-industrial integration” and “agroholding”, discloses their role and place in the agrarian sector of the economy, and justifies the necessity of the creation an integrated production in the Ukrainian dairy sub-complex. The study aims at identification and description of latest trends in Ukraine’s dairy market. Moreover, authors present a successful Ukrainian example of Milkiland N.V. as one of the TOP 5 players in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dairy market.
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New types of tourism and tourism marketing in the post-industrial world
41-45Views:182At the end of the 20th century in the most developed countries economy and society went through profound transformation. The emerging post-industrial society can be characterised by the dominance of service industry, more leisure time of the population, higher disposable income and more conscious consumers. These conscious consumers are more and more quality orientated and reject undifferentiated mass products. New customers of tourism and hospitality industry are not only more affluent – so less price conscious – and more quality orientated but they are also seeking activity, participation, fantasy, and experience. These new types of tourists are interested rather in aesthetic aspects of life and are seeking highly differentiated, personalised experience. In the following article the authors, professors of the French ESSCA business school overview theoretical aspects of new, post-Fordist tourism demand and present examples of the new tourism and hospitality products having emerged in the developed countries during the last years.
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Demand and supply of labor market: A case of UAE
145-153Views:250United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed a progress of growth booming since its establishment, which as result puched all economic componets to indicated a active movement in term of employment and capital investment as well. This steady economic growth has been marked by an increase in the income by the country’s citizens, both national as well as the foreign residents This paper to axamine the supply and demand of labor market in UAE. The technique used to source the data is a secondary resource and methodology employed in descriptive and analytical. The study found that, the diversification of the economy, and enhance the role of private sector increased the demand for labor as well as increased the diversification for nationalities in the country. From other side, because of diversification strategy, the foreigners labor have more numbers in total employment structure.
JEL CODE: O12
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A Matrix Model for Integrated Pest Management as a Combined Function of Extension Education and Economic Concepts
Views:231The Farmer Field Schools (FFS) help to establish the significance of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept, i.e., the FFS contributed to demonstrating the importance of the IPM idea. In this paradigm, the integrated pest management specialist's decision is based on the application of agricultural extension and economic principles. This requires an analysis and understanding of the ecosystem and plant physiology, followed by monitoring the population dynamics of the pest to determine the pest’s economic injury level, and finally, determining the appropriate action to suppress it. The transition point from organically integrated pest control measures to chemical pest control is when pest density exceeds economic injury. In other words, when pest density surpasses economic damage, an organically integrated pest control approach gives way to the chemical pest control method. This study advises conducting research experiments and studies to ascertain the economic impacts of pandemic pests on the targeted crop, such as powdery mildew and aphid pests in the protected tomato plant culture.
JEL CODE: Q16
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New approaches to youth in thrill society: sport participation as fuel to boost outlook on future and concepts on self
97-104Views:143The theory of “thrill-society” (Schulze 1992) conceptualizes that increased economic status that allows the focus of daily life to switch from providing for physical needs to searching for a meaningful life and self-fulfilment. Combined with the expansion of education, it causes a smooth transition from traditionally inherited social positions and class-based hierarchy in society to a higher degree of social mobility, increased individualisation and diversification of life styles. Noting that, the actualization of this concept in Hungarian society came into effect only along societal discrepancies; still, the uncertainties and insecurities that accompany the process of ‘thrill projects’ collection are substantial. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport participation in the lives of young people, how sport may assist young people in coping with the insecurities and uncertainties created in the societal scene that is characterised by the combination of Schulze’s “thrill-society” and the inheritance of political, economic and societal transition of Hungary. Specifically, this study aims to find differences between sport participants and non-participants in their perception of future on micro and macro level, their readiness to take risks and challenges, and their self-concept related to their own health, physical condition, and physical appearance. Stratified random sampling was applied to obtain an accurate representation of Hungarian youth population. Data were analysed by using cross tabulation, non-parametric and multidimensional statistical methods. The results showed that sport participants adopted a more positive image of the future, higher ability to assume risks and a more modern state of mind, as well as a more stable self-concept in comparison to non-participant youth. Also, it seems that the sporting contest may be as strong as sociodemographic positioning in the formulation of these life capabilities. It can be suggested that sport may assist youth with a stable and accountable value environment that reduces the variety of opportunities and provides resources to better deal with societal uncertainties; meanwhile it opens new avenues of personal freedom even in a “thrill society” that filled with deficits in transitioning societies.
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Responsible Behavior and Environmental Protection – in Case of Football Clubs
64-74Views:646There has been a hotspot in sports industry these days that is becoming more and more wide-spread in sports organizations and among managers, namely CSR, that is corporate social responsibility. In the life of geographical regions, towns or villages, professional football clubs play a crucial role. Consequently, clubs tend to take responsibility for these communities in return for their support: whether it is the local population or the authorities, other businesses or the environment, they are ready to stand up for good causes. Nowadays sports centres with their regular events have a significant effect on the environment either regionally or globally. That is the reason why it has become vital in the management of sports facilities to respect environmental principles when designing and using sports facilities and to avoid producing pollution that could harm and deteriorate the environment. The aim of our study was on the one hand, to present the definitional and theoretical evolution of CSR, than the CSR concept in sport, special regard to environmental protection. On the other hand, to analyze what kind of CSR related issues do football clubs (Real Madrid C. F. – RM, Borussia Dortmund – BVB) and how they are addressing issues of environmental sustainability in the context of CSR. According to RM and BVB, we can say that they really try to do efforts to responsible behavior and environmental protection. They have special respect for the society and took big step to use different environmental management tools. It was easy to find information, reports and case studies about these activities.
JEL Classification: M14
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Less favoured area measure in the Netherlands: a welcome or negligible addition?
23-28Views:184The Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) Directive (75/268) which was introduced in 1975, was the first common European instrument of regional agricultural structural policy. LFAs are areas where agriculture is hampered by permanent natural handicaps. The major objectives were to ensure the continuation of farming, thereby maintaining a minimum population level and preserving scenic landscapes and environmentally valuable habitats. In the Netherlands, the LFA measure is used as an additional payment, to compensate farmers for negative economic effects due to the conservation of these natural handicaps. It was not implemented as a stand alone policy, but is linked to measures aiming at active nature and landscape conservation management. In this paper, the effects will be examined of the regulations aiming at the conservation of natural handicaps on farm businesses within LFAs, when comparing them to farm businesses outside LFAs, where these regulations and handicaps do not exist. The main data source that was used is the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Reference groups of farms were compiled with the use of the simple and multiple imputation approach in Stars (Statistics for Regional Studies). Both analyses were tested with the use of a parametric and a nonparametric test. When comparing the results of both analyses, it can be concluded that there is no evidence that there is a statistical difference in family farm income corrected for and not corrected for LFA payment between the LFA farm businesses and the reference groups. Based on these findings it can be concluded that the size of the compensatory allowances is small and there is no evidence that it has a significant effect on the family farm income of LFA farm businesses. The main purpose of the Dutch LFA policy is to compensate farm businesses for negative economic effects due to the conservation of natural handicaps. Although this may be true for some individual farms, based on the methods used in this paper, it appears not to be the case for the collectivity of LFA premium beneficiaries as a whole.
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The characteristics of consumer attitudes in the food market in Hungary
43-49Views:202The objective of our research was to examine the health status and health behaviour of the Hungarian population in relation of food consumption by identifying relationships between the underlying factors. In our research we used the objective factors from secondary data concerning nutritional status and body image as a framework for the interpretation of the examined relationship of eating attitudes and body attitudes. We chose survey as our test method, it was carried out on a national representative sample of 1000 people. After the examination of the factor structure of the two attitude measuring questionnaire, five consumer groups have been identified by the cluster analysis. The five clusters are: Uncontrolled Impulse Eaters, Dissatisfied Tense, Uninterested, Overweight Impulse Eaters and Conscious Consumers. This segmentation based on eating attitudes and body attitudes could serve as a guidance for health marketing experts and the manufacturers of health protective food to determine and address their target group.
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Disentangling the complexity of India ’s agricultural sector
35-42Views:151Agricultural policies in India directly impact the livelihoods of close to two thirds of India’s population. Through policies, the government manages food security, urban and rural poverty, energy, and infrastructure, among others. Given the current state of India’s governance, the connection between policy making and its results in society becomes a key issue for research. This paper presents a game for use as a research instrument. The game can facilitate research into the policy making process at various levels of the government in India. The design is intended to understand the complexity of the institutional arrangement that defines and implements agricultural policies. The game integrates with other games that simulate other aspects of the agricultural system in India. The paper presents the verification and validation cycles followed, and identifies further steps for field validation.
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Differences of the primary energy consumption of the countries all over the world
155-161Views:172The global energy consumption is continuously growing, because the population of Earth and the standard of living expands day by day. As a result, the emission of greenhouse gases increases further more. The various countries use the different types of fuels in varying amount.In this study we have examined the primary energy consumption of the countries, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2016 (BP, 2016), based upon their usage of fuels.The assay resulted in a 7 cluster model. With one exception, each cluster contains a resource, which is used in a much larger amount than in the other clusters. As a result, we may differentiate between an average cluster, and the clusters of countries that use primarily hydropower, nuclear energy, renewable energy, coal, fossil oil, and natural gas.We have examined if there is any connection between the location of a country in a cluster and its HDI, as well as the countries’ competitiveness.
JEL Code: Q42, Q43, Q35, Q01, P28, P18
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Investment analysis of a piglet producer farm – a Hungarian case study
141-152Views:282The pig population in Hungary was about 8 million in 1990, while this number dropped to only 2.8 million by 2018. The previously so successful integrated domestic pig farming has almost completely disappeared and most of the smaller farms still operating in the 1990s are no longer functioning. At present, a process of concentration can be observed, which was accompanied by the further specialization of pig farming. The main profile of most pig farms is fattening, but there is a smaller number of farms in Hungary today specialized for piglet production, the successful operation of which requires significantly more expertise and more complex technology.
The main aim of this study is to present the production and economic indicators of a pig farm specialized in piglet production in Hungary as a result of a greenfield investment in the current economic environment, on a case study basis. For this purpose, an economic simulation was prepared based on primary data collection, operating on a deterministic basis, modelling the production and economic processes of the farm. The performed calculation does not derive the economic indicators of the activity from accounting records, but assigns the prices of natural inputs used on the basis of technological data. Primary data and information collection (e.g. technological data, input and output prices, unit cost items, etc.) took place between 2018-2019.
At the purchase prices of pigs in the last two years, which have increased significantly due to the African Swine Fever (ASF), the majority of pig farms in Hungary have an outstanding profit-making capacity. The physical efficiency indicators of the analysed pig farm are almost identical to the average data of such farms in the Netherlands, which has one of the most developed pig industry. The income of the examined pig farm at farm level is about 734 thousand EUR, i.e. 232 EUR per sow. Moreover, this activity is profitable even without subsidies. As a result, the greenfield investment pays off in the 8th year by default (average scenario). The investment has a Net Present Value (NPVr=3%) of EUR 2,609 thousand for 10 years, an Internal Rate of Return of 8.5%, and a Profitability Index (PIr=3%) of 1.3. At the same time, risk factors such as sales prices, output and capacity utilization, and feed costs should be taken into consideration as in extreme cases the return on investment may be unfavourable (pessimistic scenario).
JEL code: D24, M11, Q12
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The statistical analysis for the theoretical bio-methane market based on the opinion of car-owners of Hajdú-Bihar county in Hungary
27-30Views:146The more expensive fuels and the health-threatening air pollution make even necessary the spread of such a fuel, which serves as a solution to these problems. In our country at present there are three public CNG filling stations, two of them are located in Gyôr and Szeged and the third one was opened at the end of October in Budapest. The lack of infrastructure obstructs the spread of the methane gas powered cars in Hungary. During my research getting information by means of a test questionnaire I measured the fuel selection of the drivers and their opinion about alternative fuels. Then on the basis of the results I determined the potential target audience of the bio-CNG. As it is also typical in our country, the most of the respondents use gasoline-powered vehicle and drive less than 12 000 km/year on an average. 55% of the respondents would have their car converted in order to refuel cheaper and to protect the environment, consequently there would be demand for CNG. The potential target audience is the urban population below the age of 41 with higher education degree and average salary. One of my future objectives is to design a CNG filling station network in Hajdú-Bihar county considering the demand of car owners.
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Food security assessment and consumption pattern in rural households in Ogun State, Nigeria
15-20Views:150The problem of nutrition security is getting worse in Africa, due to increasing population growth and poor progress in efforts directed at reducing food insecurity in many countries in the continent. The paper undertook an assessment of the food security situation and food consumption pattern in rural households in Ogun state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 260 rural households from whom data were collected through structured questionnaire. The tools of analysis were descriptive statistics and food security index. The former described the consumption pattern, and households’ sources of food availability, while the latter was used to analyse the food security situation. The result of the rural households’ consumption pattern reveals that the rural households derived more of their energy from carbohydrates at the expense of other classes of food items. The result also shows that majority (75.5%) obtained their food through their own production and supplemented same with food purchased from the market to meet up with their family needs. Based on the recommended daily calorie intake (R) of 2,470 kcal, 59.6% of the rural households were food insecure while 40.4% were food secure. The calculated head count ratio (H) for the food insecure households was 0.6, confirming that almost 60% of households in the study area were food insecure. For secure households, the head count ratio (H) was 0.4, further confirming that only about 40% of households in the study area were food secure. The shortfall index and surplus index were 0.2787 and 0.3498 respectively, meaning that the energy requirement was less by about 27 percent and in excess of 34 percent for the food insecure and food secure households. The paper recommends that while enhancing production of arable crops - roots, tubers and cereals, a sensible balance of tilting towards meeting the requirements in the consumption of animal protein/legume, fats/oils, fruits and vegetables must be maintained to ensure food security. This policy thrust could be enhanced through mass education.
JEL code: R20
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Poultry sector analysis in Albania
Views:313Meat production, in specific poultry meat is a very important product for protein and nutrition values for many consumers. With the urbanization of the population people’s diet is shifting towards meat overall, including processed poultry. This has increased the challenges of quality and control over the meat products. (RAIHAN AND MAHMUD, 2018) In general, poultry remains a problematic sector in Albania, with the most common issue being the quality and not the European Union standards and regulations. This paper analysis the egg and poultry products livestock and productions, importing and exporting trends on poultry products, and the potential of development of this sector in the single market of European Union by improving the sector. This study gives an overview in poultry subsector related to livestock and production, international trades, and their market trends. It highlights the supply chain in poultry that can be helpful for poultry businesses and government. It also provides valuable information regarding the impact of quality issues in international market, also the structure of the market for poultry is conducted. Also, the imports and exports on poultry subsector trends and comparison was conducted. The study also consisted of calculations of index number CPI, which indicates the changes in consumer purchasing power.
JEL code: D1
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Spatial urban plans as a basis for agribusiness development
139-143Views:126The main goals of the spatial development of rural areas are to protect and prevent degradation of agricultural land, forests and protected areas, as well as to encourage (more) balanced territorial development. Given that the quality and development of agriculture largely depend on the level of consciousness and awareness of the population in rural areas as to the opportunities and benefits of their involvement in the adoption and approval of planning solutions, the aim of this paper is to define a communication strategy to help raise the awareness of the focus groups (landowners, farmers and investors) of the importance of and link between spatial planning and development of agribusiness and rural areas, exploring different techniques and methods of using various communication channels. The methods which will be used in the paper include secondary research, SWOT analysis, and trend and historical analysis. The research results show that it is essential from the very beginning to take the views of various stakeholders into account through frequent thematic dialogues, in order to incorporate a consensus which has been reached together with the expert team of the developer, into planning decisions. Only such an approach can lead to sustainable and enforceable plans as prerequisites for the realisation of realistically planned investment in rural areas. Furthermore, it is very important to legally standardise such an approach so that public participation, as a mandatory legal procedure, can be defined through precisely defined steps and established performance indicators from the very beginning of the process of adopting planning documents.
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Touristic Motivation and Lifestyles of Hungarian Domestic Tourists Correlation Study
47-54Views:200Motivations are closely interwoven with personality theories. According to researchers the object of motivation theory is primarily to describe what is common in people, whereas lifestyle theories highlight the individual differences among people. Tourism travel decisions constitute a special type of consumer decisions in which case the tourist has to make a choice among the personal tourism services on offer according to his/ her individual needs, but still as a segment specific product corresponding to common motivations. Consequently, certain elements of lifestyle and motivation theory appear in touristic decisions as well. Having perused the relevant trade literature, I came to the realisation that there have been very little research done in the area of travel motives in recent years. The examination of the correlation between motivation and lifestyle complemented with model application is a field belonging to applied marketing science which can be regarded as uncharted territory in tourism research. Domestic tourism accounts for a significant portion among the national income sectors. That is why it is of key importance to be aware of the correlation between the habits and needs of the local population and the factors influencing travel decisions. Applying the results of my research I endeavoured to define and model the lifestyle, needs and motivations of domestic tourists as the factors influencing their decisions. With the results of the investigation, I also wished to provide some guidelines for the creation of tourism supply in view of product development and communication.
JEL Classification: Z32 tourism and development
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Quality-satisfaction-loyalty: consumer behaviour in catering
5-11Views:261Our study is the result of the initial research of a qualitative and quantitative research consisting of more stages. The survey was made between 2007 and 2013 and specially focused on the satisfaction of Hungarian customers of catering enterprises with hot kitchen as well as on factors influencing satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results proved that a well planned, central strategy cannot be prepared for the whole catering industry as even enterprises with the same profile (warm food kitchen) show significant differences. The most important task for an enterprise is to establish and know its appropriate clientele well in order to suit its services, selection to their requirements. Our assumption that customers of fast food restaurants, canteens have lower expectations from selection, personal relations, quality of services than customers of restaurants, public houses, wayside inns, brasseries with traditional methods of selling was proven. In the lattest, the main aspect of choosing a 'favourite place' was the quality of human relations, with the special role, besides other customers, of the staff. Establishing unique atmosphere to the liking of customers can be regarded as an important point of the operational strategy. It was also proven that the majority of regular customers of restaurants are men, coming from the economically active population. Other active users are youngsters, they mainly go to fast food restaurants. More impersonal advertisements hardly have any effect, while successful word of mouth propaganda can be achieved by consequent, high level work. Regular customers can be characterized by rather emotional than market-based attachment. Favourite units are mainly preferred because of their atmosphere, relationships with acquaintances and friends, not because of measurable features, selection or prices. Those visiting catering enterprises with hot kitchen more frequently are more critical and less satisfied, in spite of this, they are reluctant to part from their regular places.
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Bread consumption habits in the gluten free diet
113-119Views:403Gluten is a protein found in many grain products. Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder characterized by sensitivity to gluten. When a person with celiac disease consumes gluten, his/her immune system perceives the gluten to be a harmful substance and reacts negatively. The only treatment for individuals with celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. It is one of the most frequent and well defined of all lifelong diseases. In Hungary, 1-2 % of the population is said to be affected, but only every 10th has been diagnosed. Bread is a basic and frequently consumed food made principally from wheat. Gluten is the main structure-forming protein in flour, and is responsible for the elastic characteristics of dough, and contributes to the crumb structure and appearance of many baked products. Gluten removal results in major problems for bakers. Currently many gluten-free products available on the market are of low quality, exhibiting poor mouth feel and flavour. People wishing to eat bread in the gluten-free diet basically have two options: buying or baking the bread for themselves. There are several gluten-free bread brands are available on the Hungarian market. The price, ingredients, texture, colour, softness of the available breads are different. There is a rather good choice in gluten-free flour mixtures on the Hungarian market, as well. The composition of these mixtures are also different. The aim of our empirical research was to investigate the gluten-free bread consumption habits of people following gluten-free diet. The research was carried out using Google forms in January 2017. Size of the sample is 196. The online form was shared in four closed gluten free Facebook groups in Hungary since they are really active in sharing information concerning gluten-free lifestyle and diet. Summarizing, in this study we wish to examine how evolve the world pork meat production, trade and consumption, and to demonstrate the main consuming countries, highlighting the role of China, as it is the most populated country in the world with its 1.4 billion inhabitants.
JEL Code: M31
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