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The Price of Baked Beans: Case Study

The price of baked beans is expected to rise in the coming months due to unprecedented heavy rainfall damaging crops in major growing areas of Michigan and Ontario. A record harvest was expected but the situation is now described as catastrophic. The price of a 100lb bag of Canadian beans has soared from $27 to around $70, adding 6 cents to the retail price of a typical 15oz can. Canning companies are scrambling to secure supplies from alternative sources like South America, East Africa, and Romania due to the crop failure.

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Angel Lawson
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82 views1 page

The Price of Baked Beans: Case Study

The price of baked beans is expected to rise in the coming months due to unprecedented heavy rainfall damaging crops in major growing areas of Michigan and Ontario. A record harvest was expected but the situation is now described as catastrophic. The price of a 100lb bag of Canadian beans has soared from $27 to around $70, adding 6 cents to the retail price of a typical 15oz can. Canning companies are scrambling to secure supplies from alternative sources like South America, East Africa, and Romania due to the crop failure.

Uploaded by

Angel Lawson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CASE STUDY

The Price of Baked Beans

Baked beans, one of the UK’s most enduringly popular convenience foods, are expected to
become scarce and expensive during the next months. The reason is unprecedented heavy rainfall
which has devastated crops in the main growing areas, the American state of Michigan and the
Canadian province of Ontario. A few weeks ago growers were expecting a record harvest but the
position is described now as catastrophic.
The price of a 100lb –bag of Canadian beans has soared from $27 to around $70, which
has added 6c to the retail price of a 15oz can previously costing between 15c and 12c.
Moreover, the crop failure caused and unseemly scramble for supplies among big
canning firms such as Heinz and Crosse and Blackwell. Alternative sources being sought
includes South America, East Africa and even Romania.
Worldwide baked beans consumption is around 800,000 tonnes a year. The British eat a
healthy 80 000 tonnes, which represents 4 500 000 cans a day, with an annual retail value of
more than £200 million. The annual import bill is between £20 and £30 million.

Source: adapted from The Times, 10 Nov 1986.

Questions
1. Using the above information, explain and illustrate the factors which caused a rise in the

price of baked beans. (5 Marks)

2. Analyze the factors which might have influenced the amount by which the retail price

was raised to consumers. (5 Marks)

3. Discuss, with reference to the information in the passage, the economic effects of the

increase in the price of beans on growers. (5 Marks)

4. Examine other possible economic effects of the increase in the price of beans. (5 Marks)

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