Structural changes in the German agri-food complex: the end of small and medium enterprises?

摘要

The article describes the concentration process, structural changes and competitiveness in the German agri-food sector over the last decade and aims to outline developments at individual (production, processing and retail) stages of the food chain and identify challenges the sector will face in upcoming years. Analysis was based predominantly on data from the German Statistical Office and ZMP (Central agency for marketing and price information) combined with evaluation of the primary and secondary literature, and focused on the major commodities of pork, milk and wheat. Findings showed that despite the trend towards increasing industry concentration, small and medium-sized enterprises were sustainable alongside larger businesses and have played an important role in German agriculture and food processing sectors in recent yr. It is anticipated that various business strategies will be developed to ensure future competitiveness and enable continued coexistence of small businesses (e.g. craft butcheries) and large-scale enterprises.