Globalisation: a study of the poultry‐meat supply chain

Abstract

Increasing globalisation of the poultry‐meat supply chain has led to consolidation and evolution of transnational companies, whether by vertical or horizontal integration, and the development of business clusters. There are significant benefits in these economies of scale, especially improved purchasing power and greater intellectual, technological and production resources for organizations to draw upon to provide products that meet differentiated customer needs. The consumer has seen the benefit of globalisation in lower commodity food prices, wider product choice and the advent of “convenience” food. Seeks to review the key factors that have led to the globalisation of the poultry supply chain and the impact of these changes. The poultry supply chain was chosen because it is highly integrated and the research includes a literature review and an evaluation to determine how it specifically relates to the poultry supply chain. Identifies the factors that affect current and future developments in food globalisation, including: relative strength of currencies; speed of technology transfer to developing countries; tax and regulatory burden in nation states or trading groups; cost of capital and labour and its effect on competitiveness; continuing production specialization and greater differentiation between domestic and international meat trade; and concerns over production methods, food safety and hygiene standards. Analyses the impact of globalisation of the food supply chain to all sectors and will be of interest to academics and those working in food supply.