Unfair Trading Practices in the Dairy Farm Sector in Slovakia

Abstract

In recent years the agricultural sector in Slovakia has faced difficult challenges. Different development patterns of the market have led to significant structural changes which severely impacted especially dairy farms. Dairy farmers occupy a weak position in the food supply chain whereas dairy processors and retailers are highly concentrated. As a result, differences in bargaining power may lead to competition inequalities. The abuse of these imbalances may lead to the occurrence of unfair practices. Because the research of the presence of unfair trading practices in the dairy sector is limited and there has been no evidence of this kind of studies in Slovakia, the purpose of this paper is to investigate UTPs occurrence among primary milk producers in Slovakia through the survey carried out in 2 regions. The results show that occurrence of UTPs in dairy sector in Slovakia is very frequent. 87% of respondents reported at least 1 UTP in relationship with their main buyer.