Investigating the Behavior of Fruit Market Operators in Response to Price Changes at Different Levels of Supply Chain in Tehran

Investigating the behavior of market players in pricing higher than the competitive level determines the bargaining power of the higher economic profits and leads to their market power. This is especially important for policymakers in terms of equity pricing in agricultural pricing policies. Fruit consumption plays an important role in diet variability and prevention of chronic diseases. Given the significant share of these products in horticultural production on the one hand and their unique role in providing household food security on the other, it is necessary to analyze the market power of supply chain actors. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the behavior of fruit market players in each of the supply chains using weekly data during the period 2012-2017 in Tehran. The findings showed that the wholesale market power of all products except apple and watermelon was higher than the retailer and dominated the other levels throughout the entire marketing chain. The results also showed competitive behavior in the market for all fruits except oranges, and finally, market players reacted differently to relative price changes at different levels of the supply chain. Therefore, it is recommended that planners try to modify the behavior of market players against relative price changes at different levels of the supply chain.