DIFFERENTIATION AND IMPLICIT PRICES OF U.S. WHEAT EXPORTS

This investigation looks at whether the grade determining and official criteria factors identified by the Federal Grain Inspection Service influence the price of wheat for export and, in turn, the competitiveness of United States wheat in the world market. Using data on the transactions price for hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and soft white wheat and the associated quality characteristics covering the period January 1990 through December 1991 and exported to 63 countries, the results suggest that the test weight, the percentage of shrunken and broken kernels, the protein content, the presence of aflatoxin, the presence of insects, and the falling number are characteristics consistently valued by the market.