Member heterogeneity is often seen as a disadvantage of cooperatives.Though, a comprehensive understanding of member heterogeneity, its dimensions and impacts on member interests, organizations and their performance is still missing. The following literature review is intended to summarize the existing literature on member heterogeneity with a focus on agricultural cooperatives in order to provide further areas of research. Different dimensions of heterogeneity are identified and ways of measuring their impact on cooperative organization are proposed.
Despite growing interest from entrepreneurs, knowledge on the profitability of commercial-scale insect production is scarce. Insight into the economic figures of insect production is needed by farmers aiming to start insect farms, by banks seeking to provide financing, and by governments planning policy interventions. This review provides an overview of the profitability and underlying economic figures relating to the production of Hermetia illucens, Alphitobius diaperinus, Tenebrio molitor and Acheta domesticus. To enhance data interpretation, we also provide a brief overview of the global insect sector, with specific attention to farm-level operational practices. Sales prices refer to fresh larvae, dried larvae or larvae meal, whereas operational costs include costs for feed, labour, electricity, water and gas. Operational cost components differ per insect species, and therefore the relevant margins are specified for three insect species. The energy, feed, and labour margin for production of H. illucens ranges from € -798 to 15,576 per tonne of dried larvae. The feed and labour margin for production of T. molitor ranges from € 7,620 to 13,770 per tonne of fresh larvae. For production of A. domesticus the feed margin ranges from € 12,268 to 78,676 per tonne of larvae meal. The margin range for A. diaperinus cannot be estimated, due to a lack of data in the literature. The ranges mainly reflect the differences in sales prices, which are found to heavily depend on the geographical market location, type of market (feed or food) and quantity sold. Major operational costs include feed and labour, with feed costs varying substantially within and between insect species. The economic figures and margins presented in this article provide a foundation for the further development of the insect production sector.
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has shocked financial and commodity markets around the world. We are analyzing stock prices and information from financial reports to examine the impact of the pandemic on stock price volatility and profits of companies in the food supply chain. We use a data set of 71 major listed companies in the food value chain from stock indices in the US, Japan, and Europe. We calculate the annualized volatility per sector, screen the contents of the reports for stated effects of the pandemic on profits, and analyze stock price reactions in four different phases of the pandemic. The results show that stock markets have reacted with an increased price volatility. Manufacturers of fertilizers and agrochemicals as well as food distributors show particularly high volatilities in their stock prices. Low price volatility was observed in the stocks of food retailers. This pattern is also reflected in the profits of companies published in financial reports. Our regression analyses indicate that stocks of more profitable companies exhibited higher cumulative returns during the outbreak. In the phases thereafter, riskier stocks received higher discounts on returns. EconLit citations: G01, G12, E44, Q01.
Studies on cooperatives and cooperative performance have a long empirical tradition. This study provides new data on the multifaceted positions and functions of farmer cooperatives in the food supply chains in eight sectors of EU‐27. Cooperatives in this area are facing changes in competition, institutional framework and marketing conditions. What is the significance of cooperatives in the European food supply chains and which positions do they take up? Which conclusions on their handling of the changes can be derived from the development of their functions in the supply chain and which growth and marketing strategies do they pursue? By providing insights into recent literature as well as presenting and evaluating results of the EU‐project ‘Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives’, we seek to provide answers on the questions raised above.
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