1. Global Agribusiness Lecture 3-2 Learning Ojectives
Describe the major features of global agribusiness.
List the factors that contribute to the costs of this kind of system.

2. The Journey Of A Tomato Solanum esculentum
Grown in California, Florida, Ontario
Transported world-wide, often as ketchup or tomato sauce

3. Journey of a Tomato
Fresh tomatoes hand picked (about 1 million tons-US total)
Hand-picking pays between $7500 and $10000 US per year, often piecework

4. Tomato Processing
Processed tomatoes picked by machine (about 7 million tons-US total)

5. Tomato Processing

6. Processing Tomatoes

7. Tomato Processing

13. Market Domination Nestle, Cargill, Monsanto
Seeds, Chemicals, Crop varieties
Top 3 seed companies control 20% of total seed trade
Top 10 agrochemical companies control 91% of market
Cargill and Continental control 2/3 of world grain trade

14. Agricultural Subsidies
$12 billion in subsidies to US farms in 2002
Cargill Intl. got $10 million!
US support= 29% of value of farm production; Canada= 9%
Nevertheless: Ontario farm subsidies= $844 million/year

15. Waste

16. Huge Farms Number of farms is decreasing
Average farm size is increasing
In Canada: 276, 548 farms (1996)
Number of farms decreased by 18.3% since 1976
Size has increased by 22% (average size 608 acres)

17. Problems For Growers Oversupply: leads to lower prices
Trade dumping from foreign (US) markets
Disease outbreaks

18. Key Features of Global Agribusiness
Distancing
Profit motive
Exports
Monopolies
Crops are commodities

19. Key Features of Global Agribusiness
Uniformity
Processing
Specialization
Control of nature
Intellectual property control $