Was bleibt in der „Region“?

Abstract

Using the example of the district of Neumarkt (Bavaria) the different kinds of Channels of distribution and value chains existing for specific agricultural products were investigated. Only an insignificant amount of these products remains “within the region”. This has to be attributed to the fact that there are hardly any companies carrying out primary processing remaining within the district. Nevertheless, there is promising potential for an intensification of regional circulation.

City food flow analysis. A new method to study local consumption

“…It makes it possible to determine the actual food flows from a region into a city and at the same time understand the production, processing, sales and consumption network of a region. This has so far only been attempted by Bätzing and Ermann (2001).…”

“…A last group of studies focuses on the structures of distribution channels . Their interest stems from the increasing relevance of food traceability, regulations and monitoring systems in relation to securing public health (Opara, 2003; Ahumada and Villalobos, 2009), paralleled by a growing consumer interest in the origin of food (e.g., Marsden et al ., 2000; Bätzing and Ermann, 2001; Renting et al ., 2003; Ilbery and Maye, 2006; Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, 2010; Abatekassa and Peterson, 2011; Carey, 2011; Miller et al ., 2016). Such studies often start from the perspective of regional food production, and ask where and how this food is distributed—often through niche markets, such as farmers' markets (Lyson et al ., 1995; Marsden et al ., 2000; Brown, 2002; Payne, 2002; Gillespie et al ., 2007; Brown and Miller, 2008; Smithers et al ., 2008; Brinkley, 2017).…”

“…They found that ~30% of the demand for plant-based food products originate from a perimeter of 50 km in Ouagadougou, whereas in Tamale, they travel only 30 km on average. A further example is the study by Bätzing and Ermann (2001), who, based on statistics on regional agricultural production and on surveys of processing companies in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria, Germany, investigated what proportion of regionally produced food (milk, meat and cereals) is actually also processed and sold in the region. They were able to relatively precisely investigate the quantity of products processed in the region.…”