Figure 3 - A global food polity: ecological-democratic quality of the twenty-first century political economy of food

shows the so-called hourglass shape of the agrifood market: communication between the two large groups of farmers and consumers—respectively bottom and top—is mediated by small groups of very large traders, processors, and retailers. Oligopolies or partial oligopolies (markets that are dominated by several large firms) are present in all fundamental markets for industrial food production: whether seeds, chemicals, trading, processing, or retailing (HoltGiménez and Patel 2009, Chapter 2; Oxford Farming Conference 2012). The existence of oligopolies is exemplified in for four industries: grain trade, retail, agrochemicals, and commercial seeds.

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A global food polity: ecological-democratic quality of the twenty-first century political economy of food - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/shows-the-so-called-hourglass-shape-of-the-agrifood-market-communication-between-the-two_fig3_318654053 [accessed 26 Mar 2025]

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Figure 3 shows the so-called hourglass shape of the agrifood market: communication between the two large groups of farmers and consumers—respectively bottom and top—is mediated by small groups of very large traders, processors, and retailers. Oligopolies or partial oligopolies (markets that are dominated by several large firms) are present in all fundamental markets for industrial food production: whether seeds, chemicals, trading, processing, or retailing (HoltGiménez and Patel 2009, Chapter 2; Oxford Farming Conference 2012). The existence of oligopolies is exemplified in Figure 3 for four industries: grain trade, retail, agrochemicals, and commercial seeds.

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<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/shows-the-so-called-hourglass-shape-of-the-agrifood-market-communication-between-the-two_fig3_318654053"><img src="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lanka-Horstink/publication/318654053/figure/fig3/AS:532706246303744@1504018474486/shows-the-so-called-hourglass-shape-of-the-agrifood-market-communication-between-the-two.png" alt="shows the so-called hourglass shape of the agrifood market: communication between the two large groups of farmers and consumers—respectively bottom and top—is mediated by small groups of very large traders, processors, and retailers. Oligopolies or partial oligopolies (markets that are dominated by several large firms) are present in all fundamental markets for industrial food production: whether seeds, chemicals, trading, processing, or retailing (HoltGiménez and Patel 2009, Chapter 2; Oxford Farming Conference 2012). The existence of oligopolies is exemplified in for four industries: grain trade, retail, agrochemicals, and commercial seeds."/></a>