In this paper, we assess the potential for rehabilitation of comparative analysis under its new guise of benchmarking. After a brief description of comparative analysis, we discuss the deficiencies that surrounded its fall in reputation: neglect of economic principles, limited scope for action,...

In this article we explore some issues surrounding the use of farm‐level efficiency and productivity estimates for benchmarking studies. Using an eight‐year balanced panel of Victorian wool producers we analyse annual variation between estimates of farm‐level technical efficiency derived...

Increasing livestock product consumption in many Asian countries has been accompanied by growth in some countries’ imports of feedgrains for their domestic livestock sectors. This contributes to debate over future levels of grain imports. Yet projections often pay little attention to...

Profitability change can be decomposed into the product of a total factor productivity (TFP) index and an index measuring changes in relative prices. Many TFP indexes can be further decomposed into measures of technical change, technical efficiency change, scale efficiency change and mix...

Impacts on Australian agriculture of projected climate change are likely to be spatially and temporally diverse, with many regions likely to experience increased downside risk in agricultural production. Some regions, such as south-west Australia, are projected to be particularly at risk of...

China's food processing sector has arrived at a critical stage and the challenges for the food industry including undergoing relevant structural adjustments are well documented (OECD 2000). The Chinese domestic economy continues to boom and living standards of people continue to improve. Food...

The unique and somewhat problematic challenges of marketing fresh fruits and vegetables have received attention from a variety of perspectives in recent years. The role that price plays for consumer purchases of them is complex, and will depend on the buyer, product and situation. This article...

Grain is China’s most significant agricultural product, its output being the most watched indicator by government officials, traders and researchers inside and outside China. This paper looks into China’s grain production trends in the recent decade, both before and after...

The use of economic analysis to aid farm input investment decisions has been contentious because of observed flatness of economic response in the region of the optimum input. In this paper an application of a crop simulation model, to specify the production response, in conjunction with...

The island of Bali is one of the main cattle producing areas for Indonesia. Bali is also known for its extensive tourist sector. Frozen and chilled beef are imported to fulfil the tourist demand. This imported beef, most of it from Australia, competes with the local beef in the tourist sector....