MATRACC

The research project investigates wheat markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) and the major supplier countries of this region, namely Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine (KRU), against the background of the ongoing global food crisis. Three working groups carry out empirical analyses on price transmission and price volatility, structure of wheat supply chains, and wheat trade patterns and relationships. Besides this research component the project also contributes to capacity building in the countries under consideration. The PhD students coming predominantly from the CCA countries are integrated in an international research team consisting of IAMO researchers and well-known scientists in the relevant field of research and are given the opportunity to take part in graduate courses and PhD workshops.

• Consortium Leader:  Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Germany
• World Bank
• International Center for Agribusiness Research and Education (ICARE), Armenia
• Georgian Center for Agribusiness Development (GCAD), Georgia
• Analytical Center of Economic Policy in the Agricultural Sector (ACEPAS), Kazakhstan
• Higher School of Economics (HSE), Russian Federation
• All-Russian Nikonov-Institute of Agrarian Problems and Informatics (VIAPI), Russian Federation
• Samarkand Agricultural Institute, Uzbekistan
• Central Asia and Caucasus Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (CACAARI), Uzbekistan

• Volkswagen Foundation (VolkswagenStiftung)

The following theses are part of the project:

• Economic analysis of wheat trade in Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus: three Essays (Carried out by: Nurzat Baisakova)
• Oligopoly and Oligopsony Power in the Kazakhstan grain supply chain: Production-theoretic-approach (Carried out by: Giorgi Chezhia)
• Market behaviour of CCA countries in international wheat markets (Carried out by: Gulmira Gafarova)
• Gravity models and exchange rate volatility (Carried out by: Nizami Imamverdiyev)
• Integration of regional wheat markets in Russia (Carried out by: Dmytro Serebrennikov)
• Integration of wheat markets in the South Caucasus and Central Asia (Carried out by: Miranda Svanidze)