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countries (Spain and Italy) can be explained by the weight of the financial costs and taxation. Labour
costs, which are not measurable for Greek companies, are not taken into account when calculating the
processed fruit and vegetables score. To clarify this analysis, the following table presents the costs
structures in the 5 Mediterranean countries of the EU (national averages calculated for a sample of 63
European regions), including the wages for 4 of the 5 countries being studied.

Our preliminary observation is that the net mark-up is very low in this industry (3 to 4%) and that there is
not a great difference between the countries with respect to this criterion. However, breaking down the
costs to arrive at a global index of partial cost (sub-total of the previous table), we observe relatively large
differences between countries, which would explain the deviation noted for the cost index in the next
figure.

Tabl. 5: Cost Structure in the F&V Manufacturing Industry, 5 countries, 2000-2004

Country (63 Regions)

Number of
enterprises

Raw
Material

Wages
&
Salaries

Amortization

Financial
Cost

Taxes

Sub-
Total

(in % of Total Cost)

France____________________

165

45,6%

11,8%

_______3,2%

1,2%

1,0%

62,7%

Greece____________________

_______286

55,6%

NA

_______4,3%

2,4%

0,7%

NA

Italy_______________________________

_______299

65,8%

10,9%

_______3,9%

2,2%

1,1%

84,0%

Portugal_____________________

________25

48,1%

10,5%

_______5,2%

1,4%

1,1%

66,2%

Spain_______________________

_______271

61,7%

11,6%

_______3,7%

2,0%

0,9%

79,8%

5 countries, mean___________

1 046

55,4%

11,2%

_______4,1%

1,8%

1,0%

73,4%

Gap between extreme values

44%

12%

62%

103%

62%

34%

Source : computed from Amadeus Database

As for the hotly-debated subject of pay differentials between the countries, we observe in table 6 a
disparity of 79% between France and the Iberian Peninsula. However, the weight of the payroll in total
costs remains very similar, at around 10 to 12%. There is, therefore, no visible penalisation of the
competitiveness-cost by the labour factor.

Tabl. 6: Labor Cost in F&V Manufacturing Industries, 2000-2004

Country

Number of
enterprises

Per capita Wages
& Salaries (€)

France_________________________

1^65^

34 495

Greece_________________________

__________286

____NA____

Italy_____________________________________

__________299

____________28 100

Portugal__________________________

____________25

____________19 389

Spain___________________________

___________271

____________19 284

Mean, 5 countries________________

__________1 046

___________20 004

Gap between extreme values_____

___________79%

Source : computed from Amadeus Database

The costs of raw materials (fruit and vegetables) are high (on average 55% in the countries concerned),
which reflects good agriculture/industry integration. However, it is impossible to identify the origin of the
products bought by the industry and thus to identify any downstream/upstream ratchet effects in the
region where the factories are established. In certain regions, agricultural purchases represent a very large
sum which consequently corresponds to a low level of sophistication of the products produced. We can
state the hypothesise that a high purchasing ratio of raw materials corresponds to primary processing
industries which produce intermediate products demonstrating little differentiation and marketed in a
similar manner.



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