The competitiveness of the food and drink (F&D) manufacturing sector in 13 countries is analyzed empirically, using 1995-2002 Eurostat data. After a review of earlier agribusiness competitiveness studies, an Industrial Competitiveness Index is proposed as a composite measure for multidimensional economic performance, covering profitability, productivity and output growth. The index approach enables relative competitiveness comparisons across industries, countries and over time. In addition, cluster analysis is used for identifying distinct groups of industries characterized by similar performance patterns. The results suggest that the beverage manufacturing industry was the most competitive EU F&D industry, while the United Kingdom was the country with the highest performance averaged across all F&D manufacturing activities. As compared to the average of the period 1995-1998, overall competitiveness in real terms slightly increased. At the same time, overall competitiveness seems also to have converged slightly across countries, implying that the performance of EU countries in F&D manufacturing has become more similar. As for the clustering results, it appears that competitiveness is in general fairly equally distributed across the different industries and that above- or below-average performance is usually not sustained for long. [EconLit citations: F230, L660, Q130] © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 473-495, 2007.

The status of competitiveness for the two most important food and beverage manufacturing sectors (meat processing and beverage manufacturing) in 13 EU countries is analysed empirically, using 1995Á2002 Eurostat data. After a review of earlier agribusiness competitiveness studies, an industrial competitiveness index is proposed as a composite measure for multidimensional economic performance, covering profitability, productivity and output growth. The index approach enables relative competitiveness comparisons across industries, countries and over time. The results show that during 1999Á 2002, as compared to 1995Á1998, for both sectors overall competitiveness in real terms slightly increased. At the same time, overall competitiveness also seems to have converged slightly across countries, implying that sector performance has become more similar. However, the two country rankings differ considerably, as do the change patterns during the analysed period.

Summary Is Meat Processing in Central and Eastern European New Member States Competitive after EU Accession? With EU accession, businesses in the CEE‐NMS will see a considerable expansion of their potential market but they will also face direct competition from all EU enterprises in the European market as well as in their domestic markets. Our analysis of the competitive potential of the meat industry shows some pronounced differences among countries as well as some common features. First, the meat processing industry in the CEE‐NMS benefits from low wages and expected future increases in the consumption of meat and processed meat products. But the CEE‐NMS will suffer from a fragmented structure in the primary, slaughter and processing sector. The majority of meat processing plants in the CEE‐NMS, moreover, also show serious deficiencies in meeting EU standards for hygiene, food safety, food quality and environmental protection. Given the lack of access to capital, many of those enterprises will not be able to comply with the acquis commimautaire and thus will very likely be forced out of business. A dramatic reshaping of the industry is underway with an accelerated rise in concentration and a move towards vertical integration. In the medium to long term, this could increase the competitive position of the CEE‐NMS meat industry which, with the exception of Hungary and Poland, currently lacks competitiveness relative to the enlarged EU. La filiére viande des nouveaux pays membres d'Europe centrale et orientate sera‐t‐elle compétitive aprés l'accession ? OAvec l'accession a l'UE, les entreprises des NPM (nouveaux pays membres) de la CEE disposeront d'un marché potentiel considérablement élargi, mais elles devront aussi faire face à la concurrence directe de toutes les autres entreprises européennes, tant sur les marchés européens que sur leur propre marché intérieur. l'analyse de la compétittvité de la filiére viande de ces pays met en évidence des différences sensibles entre eux, en même temps que quelques points communs. En premier lieu, les filiéres en question sont avantagées par de bas salaires et de bonnes perspectives d'accroissement de la demande de viande et de produits animaux. Mais elles souffrent de la fragmentation des structures, aussi bien au niveau de la production primaire qu à celui des abattoirs et des fabrications. En outre, dans leur majorité, les entreprises de la filiére viande des NPM présentent de graves insuffisances en matiére d'hygiéne, de qualityé, de sécurité sanitaire et de protection de l'environnement. Comme elles auront difficilement accés au capital, elles ne seront pas en mesure de s'adapter àl'acquis communantaire, de sorte que beaucoup d'entre elles devront disparaître, Une dramatique réorganisation du secteur se dessine ainsi, avec l'accélération de la concentration et le développement de l'intégration verticale. A terme, ces transformations peuvent conduire a un renforcement de la position des industries de la viande dans les NMS qui, à l'exception de la Pologne et de la Hong...