Vertical integration as future strategy to increase value absorption of primary producers: the Belgian sugar beet and the German rapeseed case

Abstract

Vertical integration is a means to increase market power. While for some agricultural products it is easier for farmers to exert control over their product beyond the farm gate, for others it is more difficult. The latter instance shows two main characteristics. First, the farmer cannot sell the respective product to final consumers without processing. Second, processing is capital intensive. Consequently, farmers have limited sales channels, and vertical integration of the supply chain is a complex and therefore, challenging task. It implies cooperation among farmers to process the raw material at a profitable scale and to finance the installation of processing facilities. Thus, for these product categories farmers are prone to market power issues, since they depend on private businesses who have the financial means to install processing facilities and the logistic capacities to organize the collection of large amounts of raw material. This paper aims to identify and analyse the role of the supply chain integration under changing policy and market conditions. Two case studies serve as the basis for the analysis; sugar beet in Flanders/Belgium and oilseed rape in Hessen/Germany. While for sugar beet, the effects of market power are emerging only now with the termination of the quota system, farmers growing oilseed rape have been experiencing these problems since the 1990s. Our analysis concludes that most strategies to maintain or improve farm income are exhausted. Nevertheless, a combination of horizontal cooperation and vertical integration may be a potent option in the future.