27171 - Agrifood Marketing

Learning outcomes

The student learns the fundamentals for the analysis of the main features of agri-food markets (operators, relationships, functions, chains/networks, and institutions) and gets knowledge on methods useful to elaborating the marketing managements strategies in agri-food companies.

Course contents

Introduction to agri-food marketing
The global context of agro-food marketing, D I Padberg (From Padberg, Ritson, and Albisu, 1997)
Food marketing and agricultural marketing: the scope of the subject of agro-food marketing, C Ritson (From Padberg, Ritson, and Albisu, 1997)

Marketing of Agricultural Products (Chapters From Kohls and Uhl, 2001)
I. THE FRAMEWORK OF THE MARKETING PROBLEM. -  1. Introduction to Food Marketing. 2. Analyzing Agricultural and Food Markets 3. Agricultural Production and Marketing.
II. FOOD MARKETS AND INSTITUTIONS. 4. Food Consumption and Marketing. 5. Food Processing and Manufacturing. 6. Food Wholesaling and Retailing. 7. The International Food Market.
III. PRICES AND MARKETING COSTS. 8. Price Analysis and the Exchange Function. 9. Competition in Food Markets. 10. Farm and Food Prices. 11. Food Marketing Costs.
IV. FUNCTIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES. 12. The Changing Organization of Food Markets. 13. Cooperatives in the Food Industry. 14. Market Development and Demand Expansion. 15. Market and Bargaining Power.16. Market Information. 17. Standardization and Grading. 18. Transportation. 19. Storage.
V. THE GOVERNMENT AND FOOD MARKETING. 22. Food Marketing Regulations.
VI. COMMODITY MARKETING. 29. Fruit and Vegetable Marketing.

Marketing management (Chapters from Blythe, 2008).
The marketing environment
Consumer and buyer behaviour
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
Market research
Products, branding and packaging, Pricing, Distribution, Communications
Marketing planning, implementation and control

Readings/Bibliography

• Marketing of Agricultural Products, 9/E Richard L. Kohls, Joseph N. Uhl, Prentice Hall, 2002. ISBN: 9780130105844
• Essentials of Marketing 4th ed., Jim Blythe, Prentice Hall, 2008. ISBN: 9780273717362.
• Looking east looking west: organic and quality food marketing in Asia and Europe, edited by: Rainer Haas, Maurizio Canavari, Bill Slee, Chen Tong and Bundit Anurugsa, Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2010, ISBN: 978-90-8686-095-1

Teaching methods

Class lectures and project work

Assessment methods

Oral exam.
Optional integration with a short paper.

Teaching tools

Teaching materials (slides and scientific articles) made available on-line
Social network used to exchange materials and comments

Office hours

See the website of Maurizio Canavari