Determinants of Domestic Food Price Differentials: Constraints for Intra-Uganda Trade

Abstract

The paper estimates the determinants of price differentials across 79 districts in Uganda. In the framework of the law of one price, we examine the hypothesis that the spatial price differentials are at least partly influenced by transportation and other transaction costs, infrastructural constraints, productivity and commodity output shocks and the purchasing power of households. The study notes the wide range of price differences across the country, which to a large extent can be attributed to the interaction between remoteness and the quality of physical infrastructure. The effect of income per capita on price differentials is relatively uniform across commodities. The findings point towards the importance of strengthening the capacities of farmers and their productivity as a means to improve their livelihoods and foster more efficient markets with faster supply responses to changes in prices. The findings further emphasize the significance of spatial dimension and infrastructure conditions in Uganda, suggesting that infrastructural development must be a core area to reduce price differences in the country.

Climatic Variations and Spatial Price Differentials of Perishable Foods in Nigeria

“…Although, climate differences across markets have a negative long-run impact on price differences. The finding is similar to previous finding by Shinyekwa and Ijjo (2016) for Ugandan markets. The authors also found that wide range of food price differences across markets are attributed to interaction between physical infrastructure and remoteness of markets.…”

Effect of the East African Community Common External Tariff on Household Labor Income in Kenya

“…The classification of the goods created 5,395 tariff lines at the Harmonized System (HS) 8-digit level. Out of these, 2,003 (37%) accounted for the 0% band, 1,152 (21.4%) were for the 10% band, 2,176 (40.3%) were for the 25% band and 64(1.2%) were tariff bands that were greater than 25% (Shinyekwa & Katunze, 2016). These classifications of goods brought a general reduction in import tariffs in 2005 as seen in Figure 1.…”

New Market Information Applications in East Africa: Three Essays on Mapping Trade Flows, Identifying Vulnerability in Food Commodity Networks, and Nowcasting Agricultural Prices in East Africa

“…Moreover, the market system is extremely dynamic: for example, a poor seasonal harvest in a market that typically supplies one intermediary marketplace may result in a shift of spatial supply chains in that intermediary marketplace to a wholly different region. By the time agricultural commodities reach the end consumer, many locally based determinants from intermediary marketplaces across the region are likely embedded in the final supply and price (Butler and Sinclair 2020; Shinyekwa and Ijjo 2016;Goletti et al 1995;Judge and Wallace 1958). Investigating the spatial distribution of market conditions throughout the economy then, is a rich area for analysts and researchers to develop policy-relevant insights that target East Africa's economic development, food security, and poverty reduction.…”