Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Chalmers tekniska högskola, 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Temporary price reductions (sales) as a means of promotion have become an increasingly important tool in the marketing mix of food retailers around the world. This paper investigates the retailers' pricing strategy by explicitly accounting for the multi-product nature of retailing. We find that retailers systematically adjust the breadth and depth of sales over time and they respond aggressively to their rivals' promotional activities. Finally, the breadth and depth of sales are found to be substitutes in the set of the available strategies to increase the store traffic. (authors' abstract)

The agriculture is regulated generally by majority of developed countries. This statement is particularly true when taking European Union into account. This regulation, which comes often together with high grants, is explained by seasonal character of agriculture, supporting of rural country, protection of jobs but also by existence of foreign grants and financial support. The original idea behind Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was to increase the income of agriculture segment. That is why EU started to subsidize the agricultural products. This led to increase of production because of the fact, that the farmers made use of the subsidies and produced higher quantities. The farmers enlarged the crops areas, used intensive methods of production, extended usage of heavy machinery and invested more in processing. This resulted in increase of secondary processing business sector. This brought the basic economic problem for the farmers: higher production backed by higher subsidies resulted in overlap of supply over demand on the market, which subsequently forced decrease in price of goods. This way, the income of farmers decreased back to the original level. The Government reacted to this process by setting minimal redemption prices. Higher price would subsequently decrease number of sold agriculture commodities. This way, there occurs overproduction, which is logical consequence of regulating the system by minimal redemption prices. There exist several possibilities how to react to such a situation. Export subventions (financial support for exports and granting of export licences) mean only transferring the problem of overproduction to another country. Another "possibility" is to cut-down imported quantities by putting restriction on import, such as quantity restrictions or customs duties. The support of export makes the situation more difficult for local farmers and import restrictions could lead to retaliatory action. The last used method is a possibility of buying out of the overflowing quantity of agricultural products and its either destruction or selling these under price. In EU discussions about complex reform of CAP and the way of its financing are constantly in progress. Quality of products and support of rural country are the priorities of this complex reform. According to Author, the regulation of agricultural industry is necessary in European context, but in another way that is performed under CAP. The regulation is not necessary just because of the fact, that agriculture is a specific sphere of business, but more likely because of the need to control cheap, low-quality and dangerous products, as well as maintaining reasonable balance of migration of people from rural country towards towns. The approach of EU to market intervention is shown by the Author specifically on the market of agricultural commodities in EU and CR. According to the fact that the legislation relating to this topic is very wide, the Author used specific example of the butter market and examined the interventions on this market in detail. Market prices of butter and intervention purchases in EU countries were cross-examined. For this comparison the price levels from years 2005, 2006 and 2007 were used for the EU countries using intervention tool on the butter market. As a result of this analysis the Author declares, that he did not notice any significant differences in level of intervention prices among the EU countries. This applies to new EU joining countries as well. In the Czech Republic the State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SZIF) intervenes on the agricultural market. This Fund buys agricultural overpluses and tries to sell these commodities at highest price possible. Loss from intervention operations is estimated to be several billion Czech crowns per year. In 2005 SZIF accepted 26 offers from three economic operators and bought altogether 795,1 tons of butter. This number refers to the quantity after deduction of returned butter. The value of butter kept by the SZIF was 69,335,000 CZK including VAT. In 2006, as in 2005, buy-outs of butter were initialised by Commission as late as at the beginning of April. Again, this was caused by the fact, that the market price was by 7 % higher, in comparison to new intervention price. Between 3rd April and 15th June the SZIF accepted 31 offers from four economic operators and bought altogether 1,164.2 tons of butter. Total value of butter was 157,475,000 CZK including VAT (69,335,000 CZK from year 2005 and 88,140,000 CZK relating to 2006). In 2007 and 2008 almost no butter was purchased because of the high global market price. An important conclusion can be made in relation to result of intervention tools and its impact on consumers, producing subjects and milk processing companies. Situation on the Common EU market is dependent on successful handling of agricultural overpluses, which means dependency on global prices of milk commodities and actual foreign exchange rates (USD/EUR/CZK). And what is a most important; main beneficiary from intervention purchases is the processing industry, to which this support is not primarily addressed. Intervention purchases have nearly no impact on income of commodity first-producers as well as on the consumer prices. Liberalisation of the world trade is another area analysed in this Thesis. Liberalisation does not have to mean necessarily reduction of agricultural production, especially not in territories favourable for agriculture. It is probable, that together with increasing financial solvency of poor countries, demand for agricultural product, backed by ability to pay, will grow in these regions. These countries will not be able to satisfy this demand themselves also because of the fact, that high quantities of local agricultural production is exported. As a result, liberalisation of the world agricultural trade could help both developed and developing countries. Nowadays, within the WTO agreements, agricultural products from more than 40 least developed countries are allowed to enter European market duty free and no real threat to the Common market was noticed. Furthermore, there exists a system of non-duty licences towards third countries that results in non-European agricultural product entering European Common Market. The fact is that export of the EU agricultural production is deteriorating due to the decreasing subsidies, which is in contrast to slightly increasing import of agricultural products from non-EU countries. Sadly, this is caused also by overdeveloped bureaucratic network in EU, which is increasing the price and making EU products less competitive. According to the Author, production and consumption of cheese will grow according to changing food habits, but in future the Author expects a decrease in demand for butter and low-fat milk and these products will be relatively more exported thanks to the generally increasing world demand for these products. The production of milk will not change significantly; the number of milking cows is expected to decrease slightly and the utilisation should slightly increase. In medium-term conditions, the Author expects the generally decreased demand for milk and butter should be followed by an increased demand for milk products with higher added value.

A survey of 360 respondents in metropolitan Salt Lake City was made to determine their attitudes about fluid milk products and the affect of these attitudes on consumption levels. The fluid milk products studied were regular whole milk, two percent milk, skim milk, and nonfat dry (powdered) milk. The respondents had the most positive attitudes about regular whole milk. Their attitudes about the other three products were highest for those which most nearly resembled regular whole milk . The consumption levels of the four products followed the same pattern. The respondents' attitudes about four attitude parameters affected their consumption levels. Those respondents with positive attitudes about these parameters consumed more than those with neutral or negative attitudes. The four parameters were taste-refreshment, nutritionvitality, appropriateness, and convenience.

Darbo objektas – Lietuvos pieno bendrovių pelningumas. Darbo tikslas – įvertinti Lietuvos pieno bendrovių pelningumą lemiančius veiksnius. Darbo uždaviniai: • išanalizuoti teorinius oligopolinės rinkos veikimo ypatumus; • išnagrinėti teorinius pieno sektoriaus rinkos ypatumus; • nustatyti Lietuvos pieno bendrovių grynojo pardavimo pelningumo pokyčius ir įvertinti jį lėmusius veiksnius; • įvertinti Lietuvos pieno bendrovių grynojo pardavimo pelningumo didėjimo galimybes. Tyrimo metodai: literatūros analizė, statistinių duomenų palyginamoji analizė, grafinis vaizdavimas, regresinė analizė. Tyrimo rezultatai: • pirmoje darbo dalyje išnagrinėti oligopolinės rinkos ypatumai; • antroje dalyje nustatytas pieno perdirbimo įmonių veikimo modelis ir išanalizuoti grynojo pardavimo pelningumo kitimą lemiantys veiksniai; • trečioje darbo dalyje įvertintos pieno bendrovių grynojo pardavimo pelningumo perspektyvos iki 2015 m. / Research object – Profitability of Lithuanian milk products manufacturers Research aim – to evaluate the factors of profitability of Lithuanian milk products manufacturers. Objectives: • to consider the peculiarities of the market milk; • to determine and evaluate the lead factors of the profitability of Lithuanian milk products manufacturers ; • to recommend the opportunities for improvement of profitability of Lithuanian milk products manufacturers . Research methods: analysis of literature, statistical and comparatative data analysis, graphical representation, regression analysis. Research results: • in the first section of the paper analysis of oligopolistic market structure is provided. Author analysis the features of Bertrand, Stackelberg, Cournot and other oligopolistic models. • In the second section author designed a model of dairy products market structure in Lithuania and based on the model the factors of profitability of dairy products companies ar analysed. • Third section forecasts the perspective of profitability of dairy products companies until 2015.

Whey from a commercial cheese plant, taken at draining on five separate days, from cheese made with a Mucor miehei coagulant was cooled within 1 h to 4 C. Portions were adjusted from pH 4.2 to 6.4 at .2 pH intervals and subjected to HTST pasteurization at 73.9, 76.6, and 79.5 C for 25 sec. Milk clotting activity in whey was determined before and after pasteurization. Resistance to heat in-activation increased with decreasing pH. All measurable activity was destroyed above pH 5.4 by pasteurization at 79.5 C, above pH 5.8 at 76.6 C and above pH 6.0 at 73.9 C. Milk clotting activity in Cheddar cheese mad with Mucor miehei remained unchanged for 26 weeks. Four commercial sterile liquid-milk-based consisting of infant formula, concentrated infant formula, nutritionally complete food, and diet food was aseptically inoculated with sterile Mucor miehei protease solutions to concentrations ranging from 5 x 10-3 to 1 x 10-7 chymosin units/ml of product. The samples were stored at 30 C. After 20 weeks there was no change in the nutritionally complete food. The diet food showed slight whey separation and thickening at 1 x 10-4 CU/ml and coagulation at higher concentrations. The infant formula showed definite whey separation and thickening at 1 x 10-4 CU/ml and coagulation and higher concentrations. The concentrated infant formula showed visible thickening at 1 x 10-3 CU/ml and coagulation at higher concentrations.

Darbo tikslas: įvertinti suaugusių Lietuvos gyventojų pieno ir pieno produktų vartojimo ypatumus ir žmonių, kurių laktazės aktyvumas yra sumažėjęs, mitybą. Uždaviniai: įvertinti Lietuvos gyventojų pieno ir pieno produktų vartojimo dažnį bei ryšį su socialiniais veiksniais; ištirti žmonių, turinčių sumažėjusį laktazės aktyvumą, pieno ir jo produktų vartojimo įpročius; įvertinti paros maisto davinio sudėtį, atsižvelgiant į laktazės aktyvumą. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrimą sudarė dvi dalys. Pirmojoje buvo vertinami suaugusių Lietuvos žmonių pieno ir jo produktų vartojimo ypatumai. Tiriamąjį kontingentą sudarė 3000 20-64 m. amžiaus Lietuvos gyventojų, atsitiktinai atrinktų iš Lietuvos gyventojų registro sąrašų. Jiems paštu buvo siunčiamas klausimynas, kurį užpildė 1763 gyventojai. Buvo analizuojamas pieno produktų vartojimo dažnis. Antrojoje dalyje buvo vertinama žmonių, turinčių sumažėjusį laktazės aktyvumą, mityba. Tiriamąjį kontingentą sudarė asmenys, kurie kreipėsi į KMUK konsultacinės poliklinikos gastroenterologą dėl virškinimo sistemos sutrikimų. Taikant greitąjį laktazės testą, jiems buvo nustatytas laktazės aktyvumas, atlikta 24 val. mitybos ir anketinė apklausa. Tyrime dalyvavo 54 žmonės. Rezultatai. Ketvirtadalis tiriamųjų (22,7 proc. vyrų ir 26 proc. moterų) atsakė, kad negeria pieno. Didelė gyventojų dalis (35 proc. vyrų ir 28,1 proc. moterų) gėrė natūralų kaimišką pieną. Liesą pieną gėrė labai maža gyventojų dalis (6 proc.). Ketvirtadalis gyventojų teigė visai nevalgantys... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim: to evaluate the consumption of milk and milk products among Lithuanian adult population and the diet of patients with lactose intolerance. Objectives: to assess the frequency of consumption of milk and milk products among Lithuanian adult population in relation to social factors; to analyze the habits of milk and milk products consumption as well as mean daily energy and nutrient intake of the patients with lactose intolerance. Methods: for evaluation of the consumption of milk and milk products a national random sample of 3000 inhabitants of Lithuania aged 20-64 has been taken out of National Population Register. The questionnaires were mailed to selected persons. 1763 persons filled in the questionnaire. Second part of the study was carried out in Kaunas University Hospital. Fifty four patients with dyspeptic symptoms underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Quick lactose test was used for assessment of hypolactasia. Diet was evaluated using 24 h recall and food frequency questionnaire. Results: One fourth of respondents (22.7 percent of men and 26 percent of women) reported that they do not consume milk at all. High-fat milk was consumed by 35% of men and 28% of women. Only 6% of respondents indicated the usage of low-fat milk. High-fat milk was more often consumed by men, if compared to women; by older women, if compared to younger ones; by low educated people, if compared to high educated; by city inhabitants, if compared to rural ones. A quarter of the... [to full text]

The goal of my Master's Thesis is to describe the cash flows and profitability of milk and dairy products. The thesis is trying to define the whole process starting with the milk production till the product is bought by the final customer. The calculation of the net working capital of the farmer's cooperation, dairy works and retail stores is also included in my thesis. In this respect, the thesis deals with the problem of return of payables and receivables and the duration of the cash cycle. The thesis also calculates the product margin and profitability of some of the diary products. It focuses on price setting, if it is done according to the specific costs or if it is set by the market. The results of my thesis are based on eleven agricultural companies, six dairy works and three retail markets. A research is also included trying to answer the question weather the dairy products are essential goods, or if demand for them can be influenced by price. This research is based on answers of 85 respondents. The conclusion of this thesis is a fact that margin is not fairy set and the profit is redistributed on the basis of the market strength rather than by the value added. It also confirms the theory, that the closer the company is to the customer, the higher profit it usually makes.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.