Abstract
This report presents findings from eight national studies into the governance of five European food value chains: liquid cow’s milk, beef steak, farmed salmon, processed tomato, and bread from wheat. Each study evaluates the governance of the value chain through the different stages of production, processing and retail, following the transformation from farmed/grown commodity to final food product. The studies are situated within broad regulatory frameworks of state-led policies at the European and national level, while also encompassing governance initiatives originating from corporate and societal actors. A Global Value Chains governance approach was used to create an initial characterization of value chain structures and inter-firm relationships. This provided a starting point for further analysis of individual value chain dynamics and relationship interactions. Attention is paid, where relevant, to issues such as value chain structure and product flow, industry structure and concentration, contractual arrangements, price negotiations, trade, consumption patterns and different EU and state led regulatory interventions. The research draws on existing literatures and documentary sources, further exploring stakeholder perspectives through a series of 50 qualitative in-depth interviews across the five value chains. Interviews allowed for a deeper exploration of the different perceptions of relationships dynamics felt by actors across each value chain.