The restructuring of agri-food supply chains in CEE and the CIS - Overview and policy implications

The recent restructuring of relationships between farmers and the buyers of agricultural output (principally processors and retailers) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is reviewed. The interconnected growth of contracting, multiple food retailers, imposition of private standards and foreign direct investment have contributed to the internationalization of agri-food markets in the CEE-CIS region., The restructuring of supply chains is profoundly affecting the opportunities available to farmers in CEE and the CIS. The paper advocates that public support to the agricultural sector should be geared to enabling domestic farmers to have access to restructured food supply chains, in contrast to much of the assistance to develop market infrastructure in the 1990s, which was geared to commodity spot markets, which in many cases are now in decline.