search our site     home > key topics > food market structures   industrial organization of food markets Meatpacking and retailing are examples of industries undergoing significant firm consolidation. ERS analyses of these changes are important for understanding how these changes affect prices, which, in turn, affect consumers' choices and firms' production decisions. related briefing rooms - offer an indepth discussion synthesizing ERS research Food Market Structures Food Marketing and Price Spreads Traceability in the U.S. Food Supply feature Structural Change in U.S. Chicken and Turkey Slaughter shows that substantial scale economies in the poultry industry have helped reduce the real price of chicken and turkey by over 50 percent over the 1963-97 period and have increased the share of production by large-scale firms. web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov updated: November 19, 2000  Also at ERS... latest publications (all) • Current Issues in Economics of Food Markets • Food Safety Innovation in the United States: Evidence from the Meat Industry • Amber Waves, April 2004 resources • Contact an ERS Expert • Calendar of Releases services • Receive E-mail Updates • E-mail This Page • Translate This Page

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