Price dynamics in the italian citrus fruit chain.

The analysis of the prices of agri-food products and, specifically, those of fruit and vegetables, presents considerable difficulty in respect to the variables that influence their formation. The elements that influence the formation of price and its relative spatial and temporal variability are by nature endogenous (intrinsic characteristics of the fruit, such as cultivars, clones, size, qualitative category, etc.), territorial (related to the origin of the product), and commercial (packaging, services, logistics, sales channel, etc.), and so are difficult to trace and identify in an adequate way along the supply chain, with phenomena of indifferentiation that lead to the previously mentioned problems of comparison of citrus fruit prices. However, being aware of the methodological limitations, the survey of prices, following a methodological approach to macro-aggregates, was directed to the three phases of the market, namely the origin, wholesale, and retail. The products subjected to analysis were oranges, lemons, mandarins, and clementines, during the time period from May 2001 to May 2016, utilising data provided by the National Observatory of prices of the MIPAAF (Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies). The average prices have been analysed, in relation to the aforesaid wide variability within the same species. These values mask different situations, but as the working method is uniform over time, overall we have a systematic methodology; the price trend emerging from this analysis can be considered as statistically comparable, as the systematic error is repeated in a monotone way throughout the historical series. The results of the analysis reveal that the price trend for the three phases and for the four types of citrus fruit underlying them is fluctuating and is not consistent with the pace of inflation. Passing from the phase at origin to that at wholesale and on to that at retail, the price volatility subsides, therefore we can state that the consumer benefits in a minimum way from the reduction of prices at origin, as retail operators tend to maintain the price at fairly stable levels, despite the prices registered in prior stages. This is the manifestation of the asymmetry of price transmission along the supply chain that, combined with the asymmetry of information and that of the market, harm producers as much as it does consumers. Overall, the citrus market follows a fairly articulated and composite scenario in which a price trend results that is as unfavourable for the producer as it is for the consumer and undoubtedly important price gaps between the phases. These phenomena cannot but be (at least in part) attributed to shortcomings, inherent to the distribution chain, relating both to structural and management aspects of the enterprise system engaged in the commercial process.