著者

宋 暁凱 神田 健策

出版者

日本農業市場学会

雑誌

農業市場研究 (ISSN:1341934X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.17, no.1, pp.1-11, 2008-06-30

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This paper clarifies understanding of wholesale markets established at source areas through a case study of apple growers in Shan Dong Province, China. The results of fieldwork investigations are as follow. Although the establishment of source-area wholesale markets has contributed to development of effective apple marketing, problems still exist. As the market information function is not yet fully effective, prices determined by supply and demand are not available to dealers. In this case, control by dishonest agents means that transactions are often unfair and markets are not trusted. For part-time apple growers who live near markets, transactions at source wholesale markets can increase their income. However, growers who live far from markets have to deal directly with tradesmen and pay to have their apples stocked. Furthermore, for growers who also sell at consumer wholesale markets, better profits are achieved if they form themselves into a single cooperative group and sell cooperatively. The paper concludes that it cannot be said that source-area wholesale market transaction has brought apple growers the best profits. It is likely that a rational approach in which growers organize themselves will lead to further development of apple production sources while also ensuring an increasing income for growers.