Changing the geography and Structur of the world food industry and improving the position of Iran

Geographical distribution and dispersion of productive activities and industrial enterprises depends on the locational decisions. One of the major factors affecting locational decisions is market structure, one aspect of which is geographical concentration that reflects the distribution of market power. This article is intended to measure the geographical concentration of food industry and to analyze the relevant factors in major producing countries in 2005 and 2013 by using the Herfindahl-Hirshman Index (HHI) and Ellison and Glaeser Index (EGI) index. According to the research findings, more than half of the world manufacturing industries (as per the ISIC, Rev. 3, two-digit classification) have been highly concentrated geographically, while food industry has experienced the most geographical dispersion on the global scale and the least geographical concentration on global scale with geographical concentration of -0.0088 and -0.099 in 2005 and 2013, respectively. Key factors determining the geographical concentration of food industry on the national and global scales include regional natural advantages, primary materials availability, transportation costs, spillovers of domestic and foreign demand, and market access.