This project's research is divided into two parts

The first part consists of a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of concentration and market power in livestock and meat supply chains. The second part will improve understanding of market factors of sustainability and related claims in livestock/poultry and meat supply systems. Over the last two decades, the livestock and meat supply systems have become increasing concentrated as a few firms enjoy higher levels of market power. To the extent that concentration is the result of economies of scale, the livestock and meat supply systems may benefit from this concentration via reduced production costs. On the other hand, when concentration gives rise to intermediary market power, the result can be lower prices to farmers and higher prices to the end consumer. Further, as seen at the onset of the pandemic, concentration can also create risks and bottlenecks within the system. Part i of this project seeks to understand the extent of concentration in the current livestock and meat supply system and gauge its evolving impact on economic returns - and how they are distributed -across the value chain.