The Mexican tortilla crisis of 2007: the impacts of grain-price increases on food-production chains
This article examines the case of the Mexican ‘tortilla crisis’ of 2007. Drawing on reviews of literature and the media, key-informant interviews, and secondary databases, the authors explore the response of the Mexican maize–tortilla chain to a price shock. Price increases should theoretically be passed on to the consumer as a progressively less significant percentage of the overall price of value-added food products. However, in Mexico, price increases were magnified along the maize–tortilla production chain. This was due largely to asymmetries among segments of the chain, which conditioned the responses of industrial-scale corporations and small-scale family businesses. This case study suggests that, in order to understand the impacts of price-shocks on poor consumers, more detailed, country-level analyses of market chains and price-transmission structures are needed.
Supermarkets in Mexico: Impacts on Horticulture Systems
This article examines the very rapid rise, consolidation, and multinationalisation of the supermarket sector in Mexico over the past decade. This development had profound impacts on fruit and vegetables supply chains. Supermarkets created their own distribution centres and contractual arrangements with growers, giving rise to supermarket supply operations by agroexport and agroindustry firms and a shift away from traditional wholesalers. The challenging requirements of selling to these new actors pose problems for small farms and firms. This article examines the case of a co–operative of small farmers that tried — and failed — to become a lime supplier to supermarket chains. It concludes with recommendations on ways to help small farmers meet the challenge of the rise of supermarkets.
Interviewing In Context
PART ONE: PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS. An Introduction to Interviewing. Understanding Contextual Factors. PART TWO: BASIC CONSIDERATIONS: FOUNDATIONS FOR COMMUNICATION. Developing the Structure of the Interview. Understanding Questions. Using Questions. PART THREE: ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXTS. The Selection Interview: The Interviewer's Perspective. The Selection Interview: The Applicant's Perspective. The Performance Appraisal Interview. PART FOUR: PROFESSIONAL CONTEXTS. The In-Depth Information Gathering Interview. The Survey Interview. The Problem-Solving Interview. The Persuasive Interview