(Reading: Coe, Chapters 6-9).

Assignment #2 (due at the end of Unit 4)Commodity Chains

This assignment covers the readings and course materials for Units 3 and 4 and is due at the end of Unit 4.  (Reading: Coe, Chapters 6-9).Select one food product found in your home.  Look at the label and read the ingredients.  Select one of the agricultural ingredients and determine its likely source country and the source countries of the major competitors for this ingredient.

Describe what you have learned about your product and its production including what you believe to be the commodity chain for the selected product.  Also, address these questions:

1. What regulations and standards are imposed on the product? 
2. Should there be stricter standards? 
3. What is the end of this commodity chain? 
4. What are the value-added activities? 
5. Is this a producer-driven or buyer-driven chain?

Complete your discussion by researching the company which produced the original food product you found in your home.   If the company which produced your product is not publically traded than choose a competing company which is publicly traded to answer these questions.  Review the company's webpage or other source to determine the answer to these questions. 

1. What is the stock market ticker symbol for your selected company? In what stock markets are the company's stock traded?
2. What is the per share price of the stock and how has it preformed historically?  How did the company's stock fare during the 2008 financial crisis?
3. What other products does the company produce?
4. Where are the company's headquarters?  In what locations does the company operate and are the operations in any global cities or off-shore financial centers?
5. What are some recent headlines about the company and what forces are driving changing product innovations?

Write a minimum 500 word paper using correct APA style.  A good source for APA style is https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ (Links to an external site.)  Post your paper in a Word document to the Submission Link in the classroom for Unit 4.

The following resources will be useful and can be found in the webliography:

FAO: http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/Q/*/ (Links to an external site.)E (on the left side bar select Production->Crops.  On the top bar above the map select, Item=your selected agricultural product; Area=World; From Year and To Year=current year in both; Aggregate=Sum)

Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/ (Links to an external site.)