General information regarding the FOODCOMM Research project

Who are we?

The FOODCOMM consortium is composed of a well-balanced mix of agri-food economists and supply chain researchers from seven different European institutes who want to study about the economic relationships and communication among the firms involved in food chains of six European countries (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain and the UK).

What do we mean, when we speak of food chains?

Economic food chains comprise typically three main chain actors: farmers, who grow cereals and hold livestock, processors who process the food, i.e. produce bread or beer, etc and the retailers, who sell food to the consumers.

What are we looking at?

These chain actors do business with each other in different ways. Some prefer to conclude contracts which last a couple of years; others may prefer to trade their goods on markets where money and goods are exchanged immediately. Some businesses may decide to choose to form close alliances.

We are looking at:

• what kind of relationships exist between farmers, processors and retailers

• what influences their way to do business

• what influences their existing economic relationships and the way they communicate with each other

The project is split into seven workpackages and will lead us from one step to the other as we work deeper into the subject.

For project inquiries, please contact either Nikolai Reynolds or Christian Fischer at contact@foodcomm-eu.net.

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You may also be interested in our press release regarding the first reporting period which can be downloaded right here.