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Recent trends in the Croatian agricultural business sector
109-113Views:114The purpose of this paper is to explore recent trends in the Croatian agriculture and forestry business sector and compare it with the Croatian economy as a whole. This topic is considered interesting because recent business years have been heavily influenced by the global financial crisis. Many authors would say that agriculture, as a specific branch of the economy, does not follow general trends, but is affected rather by other factors, especially such as environmental ones. The global financial crisis had the most negative impact on the Croatian economy in the 2008/2009 period, when the GDP growth rate tumbled from 2.4% to -5.8%. Although some positive movements have been recorded since 2009, a recession is still going on. Based on information from the National Financial Agency (FINA) database we found that during the period 2007-2011, agricultural firms experienced the same trends as the whole economy, except in terms of average monthly salaries and employment. However, due to the impact of / on? agricultural products prices and yields, in two year period from 2008 to 2010, agricultural firms recorded an almost linear fall in revenues, while the national business sector on the whole experienced a sharp fall in revenues in 2009 and then only a modest fall in 2010.
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TRENDS IN HONEY CONSUMPTION AND PURCHASING HABITS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Views:240Honey is a staple food of animal origin, with many beneficial properties, so the study of consumption and purchasing habits is an important issue. The main aim of our research is to present the market situation and conditions of the domestic beekeeping sector from the consumer's point of view. We considered it appropriate to present the beekeeping market because the European Union is the second largest honey producer in the world and Hungary is the largest honey producer in the EU. Thus, global and EU trade changes, market trends and changes in consumer habits are significant factors influencing the domestic situation. The market situation is presented through a review of the relevant domestic and foreign literature, and statistical databases (EU Member States' honey programmes, KSH, OMME, Statista databases and reports) are analysed. The research aims to find out the direction of honey consumption and purchasing patterns and trends in European honey consumption. We chose an online questionnaire survey method to assess consumption and purchasing habits in Hungary and present the results in comparison with similar Hungarian studies. To analyse the situation in Europe, we have collected and analysed relevant research reports, primary and secondary studies from several EU countries. Finally, the data from each country are compared, highlighting similarities and differences.
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Emerging trends in strategic planning
23-31Views:939In today’s rapidly changing world, there is an increased need for excellent strategic planning. A firm’s survival may indeed hinge on the firm’s planning process being exemplary. Various aspects of the strategic planning process are under review today as organizations wrestle to compete more effectively. This paper reveals and describes five emerging trends or tools being utilized today by firms to more effectively engage in strategic planning. Specifically, the emerging trends and tools to be discussed in this paper are as follows:
1) Assure vision and mission statements include desired characteristics
2) Perform SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis using AQCD (Actionable, Quantitative, Comparative, and Divisional) factors
3) Utilize varied sources to obtain AQCD information
4) Utilize QSPM (Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix) analysis to determine the relative attractiveness of alternative strategies
5) Use excel-based software to facilitate and enhance the strategic planning process.
The purpose of this paper is to familiarize readers with basic new tools and techniques being used by organizations to effectively develop an improved strategic plan for the firm.
JEL Code: M21, O21
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Swot analysis and identification of the needs, potential and development strategies of the fruit and vegetable sector in Montenegro
15-20Views:179Fruit and vegetable production in Montenegro benefits from naturally favourable conditions in terms of climate, soil and water resources. Such conditions enable high quality fruit, vegetables and vines to be grown, and fruit and vegetable production and viticulture have a long tradition as well as the cultivation of a wide assortment of produce. A significant number of Montenegrin households therefore deal with horticultural and wine production, although on a small-scale. Along with the global market trends, the level of domestic consumption, the expected evolution of the distribution system in Montenegro and the planned dynamic developments in the tourist sector, these natural conditions contribute to creating basic conditions for the development of the considered sector. Market opportunities are favourable and represent an additional contributing factor towards its development. In spite of the favourable climate for production in this sector and the supportive market opportunities, the real value of Montenegrin products at sector level is quite low. We conduct a SWOT analysis of the sector aimed to find out its potential as well as the needs of the sector. Our starting hypothesis is that the potential of this sector in Montenegro is greater than current activity/production, and that suitable strategies can provide higher results in this sector. The main outcome of this paper will be our suggestions for improvement within the sector. The SWOT analysis will be completed according to the PESTEL categorisation, after which Opportunities and Threats will be grouped into three major strategic categories: “New market trends”, “Sector financing” and “Structure and functioning of the value chain”. The SWOT analysis outcomes, when regarded alongside a review of global market trends and domestic production potential, lead to strategies for the improvement of the sector.
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Poultry sector analysis in Albania
Views:273Meat 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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TREND ANALYSIS OF UGANDA’S COFFEE SECTOR
Views:219Coffee (Coffea arabica and C. canephora) is an important commercial crop globally, and the second most traded global commodity by developing nations after oil. Uganda is among the top 10 coffee exporters worldwide, and second in Africa. The total export amounted to 301,366 tons of “green” coffee in 2021, forming the second-largest commodity export, and contributing about 12.4% to Uganda’s total formal exports. However, the country’s overall performance over time remains unclear given the fluctuations in production and export prices. This study aimed to evaluate the production and export trends of Uganda’s coffee sector by: (i) defining the overall direction of coffee production and export value, (ii) assessing the market variability, and (iii) evaluating the global cross-cutting issues regarding coffee production and export. Data was extracted from FAOSTAT and Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) databases. Trends were analysed using the Mann-Kendall and Sen’s Slope test, while market variability was analyzed using the fixed base index (FBI) and coefficient of variation. VOSviewer software was used to analyze literature from the Web of Science database to highlight cross-cutting issues. Results indicated a significant positive increase in coffee production and export value (p = 0.0001, Slope = 1736.67 tons and p = 0.001, Slope = 4.44 million USD) respectively. Among the top ten coffee producers, Uganda presented the third worst unstable coffee export value with a 20.1% coefficient of variation. Fairtrade, climate change, and certification were the most outstanding global cross-cutting issues. Market stabilization mechanisms should be developed through value addition by establishing coffee processing and roasting plants, as well as strategic governance and policy support to counter emerging global challenges such as climate change.
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Trends in agriculture and food production
99-110Views:121Agricultural reform resulted a shift from collective farming to small-scale production in China. This reform also has resulted a strong increase in gross agricultural output, which coincides with a slower increase in labour productivity. At the beginning of the reforms, agriculture accounted for 70 percent of total employment in China and still employs more than 50%. As a result of these reforms, China has undergone impressive economic growth also in the agriculture; the country has become one of the world’s top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. The government has also stepped up investments in rural areas to meet the market demand for agricultural products. Results are very competitive compared to Central and Eastern European countries, where agriculture accounted for only 15 percent of total employment, but agricultural reform resulted a strong decline in gross agricultural output, which coincides with a similarly strong decline in employment. When approaching the issue of sustainable agriculture, we have to take into consideration, which China and India feed the largest populations in the world and both countries have had its own agricultural successes in the past 50 years. China has used land far more efficiently than many developed countries. With nine percent of the world’s arable land, China is responsible for the greatest share of agricultural production worldwide. Volume of produced pork, eggs, wheat, cotton, tobacco, and rice has increased and China exports an increasing amount of product each year. China has opened his borders, but do not expose food consumers to price shocks and producers to risks and disincentives. In this paper, the land-tenure system and the trends of agricultural developments are analysed in China and selected countries of EU.
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New sources of employment to promote the wealth-generating capacity of rural communities
15-21Views:139New Sources of Employment to Promote the Wealth-Generating Capacity of Rural Communities (acronym: RuralJobs) is a collaborative research project partly funded under the European Commission Research and Development 7th Framework Program. The Rural Jobs consortium consists of partners drawn from eight European Union (EU) countries (Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and UK). The project began on February 2008 and finished in October 2010. RuralJobs quantified labour market, demographic and economic trends, and the impact of employment creation measures and policies in seven, representative “reference areas” across the EU, and used the information to demonstrate how rural development measures can be better targeted and how rural development policies should evolve.We identified labour market, demographic and economic trends in rural areas across EU-27 and the potential for new sources of employment outside traditional primary and secondary sector activities, and examined the interaction between different types of rural area (peri-urban, remote, high environmental/amenity value etc.). We identified employment growth areas where rural development programmes can be targeted to increase their contribution to employment creation. Our strategic objectives were the following: review of employment policies and programmes, scenarios for new sources of employment according to rural typologies, recommendations for better targeting of strategies, dissemination and mainstreaming. The main outcome expected is that the results will allow a better targeting of rural development measures and future evolution of rural development policies in line with the Lisbon Strategy.
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Romanian insurance business trends and the International crisis effects on it
17-20Views:101Is it interesting a 2 billion euro insurance market for the “old” Europe? “Not very much” one may say considering this figure represents no more than 16% of the insurance turn-over in the case of the most recent entry in the Romanian market, Groupama.The answer is still not as simple as that because “interesting” in business terms is not only about today, but very much about tomorrow. By the end of 2007 it was obvious that the Romanian insurance market is far from calming down. Not only that for the time being change is still the main real constant in use, but figures show that the market environment becomes more challenging than ever these days. The market situation showed that this allegation it was by that time more likely to be true than ever.
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Examination of enterpreneurship ecosystem in Debrecen from the direction of open innovation spaces
51-59Views:133Innovation is not just a technology, but it is rather a comprehensive vision of what the future should look like and which requires changes in many ambits. Innovation is driven by people’s needs, ambitions and dreams, and it is necessary that people at different positions in the society change the way they work and live. Innovation, as a result of human interactions, often fails because people do not understand each other, as they belong to different worlds which have their own languages and cultures. While innovation system-like thinking recognizes that the needs are a good mix of factors for innovation, it is hard to establish the perfect mix beforehand: innovation systems and policies need to be adaptive” (Klerkx, Mierlo & Leeuwis 2012). I tried to bring this complex vision to our future. The actuality of the topic is provided by the fact that we are in the period of the development of digital industrial revolution, on the peak of the technology innovations, slowly resulting in the revolutions of the machines. These technological innovations, trends, equipment or new technological achievements often make our work easier, or they may replace us, and will bring changes transforming the world with them. At present era, the availability and use of the relevant knowledge is essential. In Western Europe and in other more developed countries different spaces provide places for evolving various trends, applying the acquired knowledge, e.g. development of Silicon Valley, polices, clusters, co-workings. These innovative spaces may form a bridge for evolving a global, international or regional technology and knowledge transfer, sharing our knowledge and developing our competitiveness. They may be the engine of a “new world”. The entrepreneurship ecosystem in Debrecen was investigated regarding the presence of open innovation spaces. Though Debrecen has already had open innovation spaces, it does not have space operating as HUB. „HUB is a global platform, where people from all corners of the planet connect and engage in collaborative action to realize enterprising ideas for a better world” (HUB GMBH 2012). Furthermore, I studied the fact that why the creation of HUB in Debrecen is reasonable concerning every sector, and what characteristics this space may have. In order to analyze my hypotheses, I used questionnaires made by Delphi survey. During the process experts of this field were asked in two turns. Selecting the experts occurred on the basis of Helix model.
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Trends on the Artificial Fertilizer Market and in Fertilizers Use in Hungary
5-12Views:242The fertilizer market in Hungary is rather concentrated, which has a strong influence on the price of the fertilizer. Our domestic fertilizer use is primarily determined by that of nitrogen. The use of phosphorus is also significant but the trends in the use of potassium do not match the total quantities applied in individual years. Consequently, it can be concluded that the majority of farmers still focus on the application of nitrogen and also apply phosphorus but either neglect or do not pay enough attention to potassium fertilization. The changes in fertilizer prices between 2006 and 2017 can be broken down into two periods. Until 2012 a very important and dynamic increase was observed as a result of which the prices of N, P and K fertilizers increased by 80-120%, 160% and about 120%, respectively. This was followed by a downturn in the market and in relation to 2012 prices there were 20-30/ decreases experienced until 2017 but the rate of this lagged behind the prices in other European countries. Owing to this trend the prices of N, P and K have increased by 60%, 100% and 80%, respectively, over the past ten years. The correlation between fertilizer application and the prices of fertilizers in any given year is low but there is a positive one observed between fertilizer application and the fertilizer prices in the preceding year. This means supposedly that farmers mostly buy the fertilizers they wish to apply not in the current but in the preceding year and store them until these are applied. There is a strong correlation seen between fertilizer prices and the prices of corn and wheat, which means that fertilizer traders also keep tabs on economic results and also increase fertilizer prices under the influence of higher prices. Furthermore, it can be claimed that there is no correlation between crude oil prices on the world market and domestic N fertilizer prices. This is an important factor since the primary base material of N fertilizers is natural gas and their production involves considerable energy costs as well. It can be seen, however, that this is not what determines our domestic fertilizer prices, which can be explained by the fact that the price calculations by the determining actors on the Hungarian fertilizer market is not based on costs but on the demand.
JEL Classification: Q13
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Focus points of health tourism in the view point of changing costumer values
23-29Views:138In our study, effecting role of values on consumer’s buying decisions is going to be introduced in accordance with health tourism. Investigation of values has a highlighted role to predict future trends, because trends of consumer behavior are formed by values in several aspects. Furthermore, individual values reflect to subject’s lifestyle, purchasing behavior and decisions in connection with free time activities. Since the end of ‘80s results of social studies pointed out that, status fortifying and demonstrative aspect of consumption have been getting stronger. So, the changes of buying decisions are not based on the social stratums any more, but it represents the values of the individual with the growing effect of subject. Hence, values, expressing the subjective judgments of consumers, are the most precise predictors of long term social changes. In our study mainstreams of health tourism are going to be evaluated on the basis of secondary data. Furthermore, we identify place of health among individual values and its role in consumer decisions. During the analysis, we use data of national representative research to determine the Hungarian society’s opinion and judgments in the viewpoint of health. Uni- and multivariate statistical methods are going to be used to get a wide view in accordance with the investigated topic. Among our most important result, we define those consumer groups, in which health has a highlighted role in consumer decisions. We introduce lifestyle characters of these segments and determine them special needs in connection with purchased goods and services. This type of characterization makes it real to organizations of health tourism to develop a more effective marketing communication strategy and improve service features according to consumer needs.
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Education for rural development and agribusiness in post-socialist Slovakia
133-137Views:131Agricultural education and training in the former Czechoslovakia has traditionally focused on fostering the position of cooperatives and state farms. The destruction of socialist agriculture and the reduction of commuting opportunities in the urban space during the transition have resulted in the handicapped socio-economic position of the Slovak countryside and its population. The role of education and training in fostering agribusiness growth and rural development could therefore become a crucial strategy. The aim of this article is to analyse the current state of education and training for agribusiness and for rural development in Slovakia using the methods of literature research and document analysis. The article interprets general trends in the development of adult education in Slovakia during the transition period. The main priorities and perspectives formulated in the national strategy for education in agriculture (for the period 2007-2013) are discussed in the mentioned context. With a focus on the leading role of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, the paper assesses the current status of formal and further agricultural education and training offered in academic and other educational institutions. The paper concludes by discussing implications, recommendations and challenges for developing education and training initiatives for agribusiness and rural development.
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ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN THE EUROPEAN POULTRY MEAT MARKET
Views:251This research has also confirmed that poultry meat is currently in its golden age, not only in our country but also globally. The beneficial physiological effects of poultry meat, its nutritional value (high protein content), and its role in modern nutrition and diets have made it the most popular and 'fashionable' meat product of our time. Healthiness as a megatrend has favoured the consumption of poultry meat, which has been consumed for decades, and is reflected in the growth in production, trade and consumption. The trend of environmental awareness has also pushed the meat market towards the consumption of poultry meat as it is one of the least environmentally intensive compared to other meat types. Poultry meat is the second most commonly consumed meat in the EU, but in some European countries, it has taken over the overall lead (e.g. Hungary, Cyprus, and the UK). Poultry is not only preferred for its healthiness and low environmental impact, it is also an easy, versatile, quick-to-prepare, cheap source of protein. These advantages are expected to lead to further growth in the future in terms of production, trade and consumption, China, the US, the EU and Brazil dominate the poultry sector.
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Future role of agriculture in multifunctional development of rural areas
29-37Views:122In the paper the changes in agriculture in terms of falling share of agriculture in gross domestic product and decrease in the share of persons employed in agriculture in total employment in Poland and selected countries are discussed.The main driver of these changes is a faster pace of development of non-agricultural activities and continually deteriorating relations between the costs of production factors and prices of agricultural products. The rate of growth in labor costs and prices of the means of production for agriculture is much faster than the rate of increase in prices of agricultural products.This causes the decline in profitability of agricultural production which increases the size of farms. The pace is dependent on the level of economic development of the country. The study also identified trends in the structure of farms, functions and systems of agriculture in the generational perspective. The polarization of the farms will deepen.A strong group of commodity farms and a group of so-called self – subsistence social farms will emerge. Agriculture in Poland will have a dual nature. In addition to the production function and social services agriculture will expand the scope of service functions for the environment and society.
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Innovation in health tourism – creation of SpaHealthy application
13-16Views:172This primary research examines the introduction of an innovative health promotion service into the market. Given the assumption that healthcare costs should be part of one’s budget, the survey reveals two trends: 1. Health concerns are more observed by consumers having higher social statuses, this means that they are ready to pay money for health preservative services; 2. Health turns into a precious value when we are running short of it. This assumption is well asserted by the finding of the survey that it is those suffering from chronic diseases that would be ready to pay the highest of all sums to buy the service.
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Carbon dioxide emission trends and environmental problems in Central Europe
Views:225In this research, the effect of CO2 emission was measured in two different land-use types (Crop and Grassland) in Central European and V4 countries. The primary aim of this study is to identify the significant output of CO2 emissions from cropland and grassland. Secondary data collected from FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) between 2010 and 2017. Mann-Whitney U test and odds ratio used to study the differences between the two country groups, and Principal Component Analysis was applied to create a performance map regarding the emission. A General Additive Panel model has analyzed the influence of area sizes and the regional differences on emissions. Results showed that the effect of grassland size is the primary factor in CO2 emission. A significant difference can only be found between CEU and V4 countries regarding grassland size effect on CO2 emission under grassland, which was rather small in the case of the V4 group but explained a larger part of the variance the of CEU countries. The odds of having higher CO2 from cropland to grassland was 2.43 times in the case of V4 compared to CEU countries.
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Labour market attributes of disabled people in Hungary
119-122Views:101Nowadays employment is an evergreen topic in Europe. The North Great Plain Region of Hungary is a typical rural area in Hungary, the unemployment rate is higher in this region as the national average, that’s why it is important, to give the possibility of job for the people living in rural areas. This paper focuses on the relationship between the disabled and the labour market in the North Great Plain Region of Hungary. On the basis of the 8/1983 Hungarian Law many kinds of supplies are provided by the State for people living with disabilities. It is very difficult to provide jobs for these people after their rehabilitation. Statistical figures show that the highest ratio of ‘people living with disabilities’ can be found in the North Great Plain Region of Hungary (30 per cent of the total number of ‘people living with disabilities’). The research focuses on special rehabilitation firms (they are specialised to employ disabled employers) and their employees. Two questionnaires for the above mentioned firms and their employees were created in order to gather information on their activities as well as relationship between the firms and its employees. Altogether 400 employees filled in the questionnaires. The current study shows the results of this survey. It can be stated that this paper shows the relationship between the employment and the types of enterprises, and disabled workers’ qualification level, the need for further education. According to the latest trends we analyse the attitude to the rehabilitation of people living with disabilities and how they will be able to work again not only in ‘rehabilitation firms’. After summarizing all claims of participants we can make an impression in this area and demonstrate the problems for the labour market generally.
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New business strategies of football clubs
67-73Views:566The study investigates new strategies of football clubs in function of last few years’ trends in European football leagues. There were many changes in international professional football during the last 10-15 years that had significant effect on the success of certain clubs. We show empirical evidences about these effects based on data about revenues, transfer balance, financial and sport successes. We focus on Western European leagues and classify clubs based on their business and sport strategies.
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Impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the agro-food industry and rural livelihoods in Serbia
113-118Views:124Sixty-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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Low-carbon innovation policy with the use of biorenewables in the transport sector until 2030
45-52Views:168The topic of the present study deals with the changes and future trends of the European Union’s climate policy. In addition, it studies the manner in which Hungary’s transport sector contributes to the success of the above. The general opinion of Hungarian climate policy is that the country has no need of any substantial climate policy measures, since it will be able to reach its emission reduction targets anyway. This is mostly true, because the basis year for the long term goals is around the middle/end of the 1980’s, when Hungary’s pollution indices were entirely different than today due to former large-scale industrial production. With the termination of these inefficient energy systems, Hungary has basically been “performing well” since the change in political system without taking any specific steps in the interest of doing so. The analysis of the commitments for the 2020-2030 climate policy planning period, which defined emissions commitments compared to 2005 GHG emissions levels, has also garnered similar political reactions in recent years. Thus, it is not the issue of decreasing GHG emissions but the degree to which possible emissions can be increased stemming from the conditions and characteristics of economic growth that is important from the aspect of economic policy. In 2005, the Hungarian transport sector’s emissions amounted to 11 million tons, which is equal to 1.2% of total EU emissions, meaning it does not significantly influence total transport emissions. However, the stakes are still high for developing a low GHG emission transport system, since that will decide whether Hungary can avoid those negative development tendencies that have plagued the majority of Western European transport systems. Can Budapest avoid the scourge of perpetual smog and traffic jams? Can it avert the immeasurable accumulation of externalities on the capital city’s public bypass roads caused by having road transport conduct goods shipping?
JEL classification: Q58
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Segmenting Hungarian people based on healthy eating
65-72Views:259Relying on customer trends healthy eating, which is one aspect of healthy lifestyle is becoming more and more popular. The aim of this study was to understand the healthy eating style of Hungarian adult consumers. An online empirical research with a sample of 1563 respondents (58.7% females and 41.3% males) was conducted in November 2018. Considering healthy eating two factors, namely the choice of healthy foods and the avoidance of unhealthy foods could be distinguished. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to segment consumers. Four groups of consumers were identified: unhealthy food avoiders (20.3%), rejecters (11.8%), neutrals (26.2%) and healthy food choosers (14.7%). Unhealthy food avoiders are seniors. Rejecters are blue collar workers and have financial problems. Healthy food choosers live in families with children over 10 and do not have weight problems. This study is useful for the health sector and the government since targeted marketing programs can be planned to change eating behavior. To decrease overweight and obesity is the goal of all society, especially in developed countries. To increase the well-being of people and their quality of life educating social marketing campaigns are necessary with the aim of raising their awareness and explaining the basic principles of a healthy diet.
JEL Classification: 112, M30, M39
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Market trends and consumer demand for fresh berries
11-14Views:424We present an analysis of markets for fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries in the United States during 2008–2011. We use weekly panel data covering supermarket purchases in 52 cities. The primary goal is to estimate demand elasticities for fresh berries and thereby provide a better understanding of consumer behaviour in response to price changes and the nature of competition among these crops. We estimate fixed and random effects models for double log demand equations and a complete demand system, the Almost Ideal Demand System. The latter specification can be used to estimate demand relationships that conform to utility maximising behaviour. The elasticity estimates are very robust across the different specifications and estimation methods. This increases confidence in our findings and provides some assurance that choice of functional form or estimation method is not driving our results. We find that retail demands for all berry crops are in the elastic range and that the different berries are substitutes for one another. The demand for strawberries was the least elastic with an own price elasticity of –1.26 and blackberries were the most elastic with a demand elasticity of –1.88. Blackberry demand was also the most responsive to the prices of competing berry crops. The study provides clearer insight into markets for berries in the United States. In addition, it fills a gap in the present lack of up-to-date consumer demand elasticities for these crops and will be useful for growers, decision makers and consumers.
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The situation of agricultural sector in Hungary – trends and territorial aspects
Views:267Based on its geographical features, Hungary is basically an agricultural country. The proportion of the production area within the total area of the country is approximately 80% and the proportion of arable land is 60%. This makes our country one of the first in the European Union. In the EU, only Denmark and the United Kingdom have a higher proportion of agricultural land. Hungary accounts for only 3% of the total agricultural area of the EU-27 Member States, however, it plays a significant role in the production of certain products. (Harangi-Rákos, 2013)
In addition, the climate is favorable for agricultural production, which also strengthens the country's agricultural character. Throughout history, we have rightly been given the honorable name “pantry” (Marosi, 2009), which was true both within the Monarchy and Europe. In the socialist system the agricultural country became a so-called “industrial-agrarian” country due to the violent industrializations.
Beyond industrial development, the service sector plays an important role in the national economy due to its technology-intensive nature. In addition, agricultural production is still significant in Hungary (Lakner et al. 2020). The agricultural sector is significantly involved in the production of the gross domestic product (Fróna-Kőmíves 2019) and in the positive development of the export-import balance. During the 2008 world crisis, it was thanks to this sector, among other factors, that the recession that affected our country did not deepen. The domestic consumption is largely covered by domestically produced commodities (Csatáriné, 2019)
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Water footprint in Hungary
83-91Views:177More and more news report on water-related extreme environmental phenomena. Some of these are natural, which are often beyond the human race. But others are definitely due to anthropogenic effects. I think the water footprint index is able to highlight national and international water-use processes and gives us the opportunity of organizing a sustainable, consumer-, environmental- and governancefriendly management. 81% of the fresh water withdrawal is from surface water bodies in the EU. In Europe as a whole, 44% of abstraction is used for energy production, 24% for agriculture, 21% for public water supply and 11% for industry. Public water supply is confined to ground waters. To the water resources related human activity caused qualitative and quantitative amortisation will grow worse in the foreseeable future due to the climate change. Beside seasonal differences the sectoral differences are increasingly becoming critical between different areas, such as Southern and Western Europe. The former, wrong agricultural support system has worsened the situation since it gave financial aid for the used improper techniques of water-intensive crop cultivation. By today, this seems to be solved. Public water abstraction is affected by many factors, of which mostly are based on social situation and habits, but technological leakage receives a big role as well. Interesting, that for example the residents’water consumption in Eastern Europe decreased because price were raised and regular measurements were introduced. But in Southern Europe it increased due to tourism in the past period. Industrial water withdrawal decreased across Europe because of the decline of industry and the development of technologies. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Union needs a sustainable, demand-driven leadership which focuses on the preservation and use efficiency. This have already appeared in politics and legal administration as well. Current research calls the attention to the significance and difficulties of this kind of domestic estimation presented trough the water footprint calculation of bread and pork in Hungary. The received data indicate the domestic water consumption trends in a modern approach. There is no doubt for me about the urgent necessity of water footprint calculation because as a result innovative, sustainability supported environmental, social, economical, and political relationships can be created – not just on local, regional or national level, but on interregional, European and even global stage.
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