The purpose of this book is to integrate aspects of food product marketing with traditional agricultural marketing. This novel approach fills a gap in the current literature and reflects a growing trend to teach these subjects in an integrated way. The authors are leading authorities from the USA and Europe and the book has been developed from a very successful series of courses run for several years by the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) in Zaragoza, Spain. These courses have been attended by postgraduates from a wide range of countries, so the book is likely to have worldwide appeal.

Against the background of global market liberalization, increasing consumer awareness and concerns and the spreading of complex technology, new ways to produce, distribute and consume food are evolving. The organization of agricultural production and distribution systems need to adapt, including the development and maintenance of sustainable business relationships between farmers, food processors and grocery retailers. While agricultural value chains have been promoted for decades, more attention is needed on how to enable economic agents to develop lasting relationships and trust within value chains. Using qualitative and quantitative empirical results, Agri-food Chain Relationships offers an insight into the sustainability of current agribusiness relationships and discusses how these may be improved. Theoretical foundations for analysing agri-food chain relations are considered alongside case studies of different countries, food chains and chain stages regarding the issues of sustainable relationships and trust.