Testing Market Power and Welfare Effects in the US Catfish Industry

Peer Reviewed
4 February 2020

Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization

Giap V. Nguyen, Curtis M. Jolly, Thong T. Nguyen

An empirical specification of the conjectural variations model, which conforms to microeconomic theory, is estimated for the US catfish industry. We find the existence of market power exerted by US catfish processors. Processors force the price paid to catfish growers down by 52.88 cent per pound of live catfish, which costs US catfish growers about $300 million a year. US catfish growers can deter the negative effects of processors’ market power by increasing their farm supply flexibility. Further studies are needed to address the dynamics and competitive game strategies in the US catfish industry.

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Nguyen, G. V., Jolly, C. M., & Nguyen, T. T. (2020). Testing Market Power and Welfare Effects in the US Catfish Industry. Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, 0(0). doi:10.1515/jafio-2019-0025
Publication | 1 May 2020