ISHS Acta Horticulturae 55: IV Symposium on Horticultural Economics
COMPULSORY GRADING AND THE CONSUMER |
| Author: | P. Bowbrick |
| Abstract:
The E.E.C. spends an enormous sum of money each year on grading regulations for fruit and vegetables, but no economic appraisal of them has been carried out. An appraisal would have to examine all the alternatives to the present system, the purpose of the scheme and its costs and benefits and their incidence. This paper suggests an approach to the analysis of the effect of the E.E.C. regulations on the consumer. A grading system always reduces consumers' choice and an increase in the number of E.E.C. grades would benefit consumers. Because of minimum standards supply is reduced and prices are increased. The value of a grading system depends on the purchasing strategy of the buyer. If there are few grades, if many attributes are defined, or if inappropriate cut-off points are chosen the sorting system is likely to be valueless to the consumer. The effects of changing specifications are complex, and specifications not based on controlled experiment are not likely to be optimal. Uniformity standards are not usually relevant at consumer level. E.E.C. marking regulations are not likely to help consumers. The following changes to EE.C. regulations are indicated: E.E.C. grades should be optional; more grades should be permitted; fewer attributes should be defined; grading regulations, especially on uniformity and marking, should not be applied at retail. In addition a full appraisal of the system should be carried out. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
