COMPETITION AS A KEY PROPERTY OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKET

Abstract

Competition in the agricultural sector results from the unity of conflicting factors: the maximum freedom of activity of market forces and the significant influence of the state on the processes taking place in the industry, which ensures the overall efficiency of social production. Regulation of competition in the agricultural market in developed countries is a developed and expensive system. Currently, it is impossible to provide the same robust support to the agricultural sector in the country, but the principles and methods used for this can be taken into account. Different types of competition are developing in the agri-food market. Intra-industry competition is possible only if production and sales costs are reduced and weak, technically backward enterprises are pushed out of the market. Interindustry competition leads to the redistribution of capital and other resources between industries, taking into account the rate of return. Participation in agriculture in this competition is only possible with state support due to the low speed of capital turnover and high capital intensity in this field. Intra-industry competition initiates technical progress, and inter-industry competition contributes to the structural development of the agricultural industry. To a certain extent, agricultural product markets are characterized by perfect competition, and food markets are characterized by monopolistic competition. It is emphasized that competition covers all spheres of commodity production, distribution, market exchange, and consumption. It manifests differently in each branch of the economy, which is determined by the specifics of their activity. Conducted studies of competition in the market of agricultural raw materials and food indicate the need to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic agricultural products and ensure consumer, quality, and price characteristics of agricultural products, raw materials, and food that are comparable to the world level, regardless of orientation to domestic or foreign markets. It is noted that competition in agriculture is characterized by many competitors on the market and obstacles in the production and sale of agricultural products.