Electronic Marketing of Agricultural Commodities:
An Evolutionary Trend
RCED-84-97: Published: Mar 8, 1984. Publicly Released: Mar 12, 1984.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
In response to a congressional request, GAO reported on the efforts of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop electronic marketing for agricultural commodities, the benefits and problems of electronic marketing, and the status of electronic marketing in agriculture.
USDA is monitoring the use of electronic systems in marketing livestock, providing educational activities to persons interested in learning about electronic marketing systems, and funding pilot projects to demonstrate the feasibility of computerized electronic marketing. Overall, the projects demonstrated that agricultural commodities can be traded electronically and that electronic marketing is a feasible alternative to current marketing systems. However, the studies showed that, to be successful and economically viable, trading volume must be sufficient to cover the fixed and operating costs of an electronic market as well as to attract and keep traders in the system. The projects showed that electronic marketing improved market information, increased marketing efficiency, increased competition, and increased access to the market for both buyers and sellers. In addition, transportation costs are lower because an electronic market eliminates the need for central assembly of products prior to sale. Some of the problems associated with electronic marketing include concerns that: products cannot be adequately described, personal interchange will be lost, buyers and sellers will not perform according to the terms stipulated in the trade, and that electronic marketing is not cost-effective. In addition, some potential users are unwilling to participate or see no advantage in participating.
Jan 15, 2021
Farmworkers:
Additional Information Needed to Better Protect Workers from Pesticide ExposureGAO-21-63: Published: Jan 15, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 15, 2021.
Nov 20, 2020
-
Food Safety:
CDC Could Further Strengthen Its Efforts to Identify and Respond to Foodborne IllnessesGAO-21-23: Published: Oct 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2020.
Nov 16, 2020
-
Farm Programs:
USDA Has Improved Its Completion of Eligibility Compliance Reviews, but Additional Oversight Is NeededGAO-21-95: Published: Oct 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 16, 2020.
Sep 16, 2020
-
Agriculture Spending:
Opportunities Exist for USDA to Identify Successes and Challenges of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program to Inform Future EffortsGAO-20-711R: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 14, 2020
-
USDA Market Facilitation Program:
Information on Payments for 2019GAO-20-700R: Published: Aug 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2020.
Aug 10, 2020
-
National Bio and Agro-defense Facility:
DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps RemainGAO-20-331: Published: Jul 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
May 7, 2020
-
Food Safety:
FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Existing Efforts to Prepare for Oversight of Cell-Cultured MeatGAO-20-325: Published: Apr 7, 2020. Publicly Released: May 7, 2020.
Apr 13, 2020
-
Priority Open Recommendations:
U.S. Department of AgricultureGAO-20-288PR: Published: Apr 6, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2020.
Dec 23, 2019
-
Nutrition Assistance Programs:
Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older AdultsGAO-20-18: Published: Nov 21, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2019.
Dec 6, 2019
-
Imported Seafood Safety:
Actions Needed to Improve FDA Oversight of Import Alert Removal DecisionsGAO-20-62: Published: Nov 6, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 6, 2019.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here
Explore our Key Issues on Agriculture and Food
Explore our other Key Issues here
