Market structure and price transmission in the egg market of Fars province, Iran.

Price fluctuations, market structure, and price transmission can significantly affect the welfare of egg producers and consumers. The current study aims to evaluate price transmission and analyze its impact on the egg market in the Fars province (April 2016 to December 2021). The market structure was examined using several indices, i.e., the inverse number of firms, concentration ratios, Herfindal-Hirschman index, and Hall-Tiedman index at the pullet breeding and wholesale levels in the egg market. The price transmission between wholesale eggs and retail levels was investigated, employing error correction, threshold autoregressive, and momentum threshold autoregressive models. The results indicated an increasing trend in the average annual changes in the percentage of wholesale and retail prices, with an increase in the standard deviation of average monthly prices. Thus, the results revealed severe fluctuations during this study. Market structure at the pullet breeding and wholesale levels indicated a state of multilateral monopoly and monopolistic competition. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated asymmetric price transmission from wholesale to retail. Due to the non-competitive market structure and the observed asymmetry in price transmission, egg producers and consumers have to bear higher costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]