As a staple food, rice has an enormous market in Bangladesh in terms of market participants and the volume of the product. As the price of rice is always a sensitive factor for producers, poor consumers and policy makers, this paper investigates market integration and price transmission along the vertical supply chain of rice. Johansen’s test of co-integration confirmed that farm, wholesale and retail prices are co-integrated in the long-run. A causality test revealed that prices were found to be at wholesale levels for both the upstream and downstream markets. The asymmetry error correction model (ECM) has discovered short-run and long-run asymmetry in price transmission in the vertical supply chain where both producers and consumers were being affected due to positive and negative asymmetry. Threshold autoregressive (TAR) and momentum threshold autoregressive (M-TAR) models have confirmed threshold co-integration as well as threshold effect on asymmetry in price transmission. The results highlight the inevitability of policy implementations and increased public interventions to reduce asymmetry for engendering greater pricing efficiency in Bangladesh rice markets.

This study analyzed factors affecting profit efficiency of rice farms in wet-season lowlands in the Champhone District of Savannakhet Province in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic based on a farmer’s decision to maximize profits. The profit efficiency approach has an advantage in that it provides insights into both inputs and outputs. To analyze profit efficiency, the stochastic production frontier model with assumptions about the time period and types of inputs was applied in the study. The study found similar results to previous studies related to efficiency measurements using a stochastic frontier analysis. Rice production and selling prices have positive signs with respect to the rate of return; however, costs of labor, seed, irrigation, fertilizers, and maintenance have negative signs with respect to the rate of revenue. However, the results from the inefficiency model showed the different role of education. The previous studies found that education level did not play an important role in improving rice productivity in Laos, however, the present study found that education level played a significant role in increasing profits.

Background: Vegetable price volatility poses a serious challenge to food security and agricultural sustainability, particularly in developing countries such as the Philippines. Fluctuations in prices disrupt market efficiency, reduce producer and consumer welfare, and hinder long-term planning in the agricultural sector. This study investigates the drivers of price volatility in two key condiment vegetables—onion and garlic—which are highly traded and politically sensitive commodities in the Philippines. Methods: Using quarterly data from 2010 to 2024, this study decomposes farm, wholesale, and retail price variances into demand, supply, and import components. A variance decomposition framework was employed, complemented by Monte Carlo simulations to test the robustness of elasticity estimates under data-scarce and uncertain conditions. Results: The findings reveal that demand volatility is the dominant driver of price fluctuations, explaining 50–90% of total price variance across markets, followed by supply shocks (9–50%), while the influence of imports is comparatively negligible, accounting for only 0–13%. Seasonal production patterns amplify these fluctuations, while the impact of import activity is understated due to unrecorded volumes from smuggling and illegal trade. The robustness of the decomposition estimates is validated through Monte Carlo simulations for onions, whereas the wider volatility observed in garlic reflects underlying structural production challenges and import dependency. Limitations include truncated retail-price data (2021–2021) and unrecorded smuggling volumes. Conclusion: The study underscores that domestic market dynamics—particularly demand and seasonal supply shifts—play a more statistically significant role in vegetable price instability than trade flows. Policy interventions should prioritize market modernization, investment in infrastructure, farmer capacity-building, and the strict enforcement of anti-smuggling laws. Strengthening existing agricultural legislation and aligning programs with the Philippine Vegetable Industry Roadmap are critical steps toward improving price stability and food security.

Purpose Achieving self-sufficiency in vegetable production is a critical issue in emerging economies, including the Philippines. Onions, a staple in Filipino dishes, have faced market instability owing to frequent price fluctuations. Understanding price transmission at various stages in the onion supply chain is essential for assessing market efficiency. Design/methodology/approach This study uses monthly price data from farmers, wholesalers and retailers. Three price transmission cases were examined: (1) wholesalers-farmers, (2) retailers-farmers and (3) retailers-wholesalers. Symmetric and asymmetric cases were analyzed using autoregressive distributed lag and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag models. Findings The results show price symmetry between wholesalers and retailers but asymmetric price transmission from farmers to wholesalers and retailers. Retailers benefit from symmetric price signals owing to daily price-monitoring reports and government pricing policies. Farmers, constrained by onion perishability, are forced to sell to wholesalers who also serve as traders and financiers, accepting agreed-upon contract prices to avoid losses. Research limitations/implications This analysis focused on the national domestic prices of red onions, excluding import prices. Future research could expand on this by incorporating import prices into market efficiency analysis. Additionally, exploring spatial price dynamics at provincial and regional levels would provide further insights. Originality/value This study adds to limited research on asymmetric price transmission in the Philippine onion market. It provides insights for addressing market inefficiencies in developing countries and supports the United Nations’ “Zero Hunger” sustainable development goal, particularly in promoting sustainable agricultural production and food security.