摘要：In the past year, trade practices between fresh produce shippers and food retailersgained national attention. Shippers are concerned that recent retail consolidationhas led to market power and the growing incidence of fees and services. Retailersargue that these new trade practices reflect their costs of doing business and thedemands of consumers. Trade practices include fees such as volume discounts andslotting fees, as well as services like automatic inventory replenishment, specialpackaging, and requirements for third-party food safety certification. Trade prac-tices also refer to the overall structure of a transaction—for example, long-termrelationships or contracts versus daily sales with no continuing commitment. Thisstudy compares trade practices in 1999 with those prevalent in 1994, placing themin the broader context of the evolving shipper/retailer relationship. Most shippersand retailers reported that the incidence and magnitude of fees and services associ-ated with transactions has increased over the last 5 years. Fees paid to retailers areusually around 1-2 percent of sales for most of the commodities we examined, but1-8 percent for bagged salads. Information on the incidence and magnitude ofthese new practices is scarce. To augment information that is publicly available, weinterviewed a limited number of shippers, retailers, and wholesalers about theirfirms and trade practices. We received a high level of voluntary cooperation fromthe interviewed firms.
关键词：Produce; fresh fruit and vegetables; fresh-cut produce; trade practices;fees and services; slotting fees; retail consolidation; produce shipper consolidation
