Who gains from product rents as the coffee market becomes more differentiated? A value-chain analysis

Abstract

This article applies value-chain analysis to an agricultural 'commodity', which is in the process of significant change in final product markets. By focusing on the capacity of value-chain analysis to map input-output relations, and by identifying power asymmetries along the chain, it is possible to analyse the factors explaining inter-country distributional outcomes in this sector. A major conclusion is that we are witnessing a simultaneous process of power concentration in importing countries and power deconcentration in producing countries. It is hypothesised that similar trends can be observed in other agricultural-based value chains.