The economics of all‐year fresh food supply: Insights from Norwegian Salmon farming

Abstract

Year‐round availability of fresh foods such as blueberries, salmon, and asparagus has expanded rapidly due to advances in production and logistics since the turn of the century. We develop an equilibrium model for the competitive management of seasonally produced and continuously supplied fresh foods, deriving outcomes for price, harvest, quality, and market duration. Biological production and planting times affect costs, quality, and price dynamics. Higher costs or rents impact quality. A case study of Norwegian farmed salmon shows how the model can be estimated using stock and harvest data to test for marginal cost pricing and quantify the effects of biomass regulations on market outcomes.