Essay TRNS011: Factors Affected the Market for Prunes – Marketing Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Question One

Read the article and answer the questions which follow.

Why prune fans are plum out of luck

Yet another super fruit is being hit by a global food shortage, meaning higher prices at supermarkets.

Fresh off a banana scare, Kiwis have to stomach a shortage of the popular preserved plum, the prune. Once deemed uncool because of their reputation as a laxative, prunes have proved a hit in recent times after gaining super-fruit status.

However, more-profitable nuts and a Californian drought are threatening the prune’s place on supermarket shelves.  Sunsweet spokesman Kerry Conway said prune crops had been pulled from Californian, Chilean and Argentinian fields over the past decade to make way for hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds, which have higher yields than prunes. To make matters worse, plum crops have failed in California due to a drought.

“Now we’ve had a crop disaster, it means there’s an awful lot less produced,” Conway said.

The price of prunes has risen 10 per cent, and Conway said there was a risk of future shortages.

Prunes are the top-selling packaged dried fruit in New Zealand, pulling in $8 million a year, he said. “People have realised prunes are really good for your health. When you compare them with other dried fruits, they are the highest in antioxidants.”

The latest shortage comes weeks after supermarkets cut back supplies of bananas after bad weather affected growing conditions in the Philippines.

Oxfam NZ spokesman Jason Garman said global food shortages were becoming more regular due to increasing demand, which is expected to rise 14 per cent in the next decade, dwindling access to energy, freshwater, crop competition and global warming.

Pests are flourishing as the world warms with Central America yields down 40 per cent from the previous year.

1 There are a variety of resources that are needed to grow plums which are used to make prunes

Draw up a table with columns for each of the three major groups of resources.  Under each heading, list two examples of resources used to grow plums. Be specific.

2 The article lists a number of factors affected the market for prunes. Draw up a table and describe them under the column headings of “Demand Factors” and “Supply Factors”. Make sure you at least two relevant factors under each heading.

3 (a) Draw a correctly labelled market for prunes.  

(b) Choose one of the factors from the “Supply Factors” column and clearly label how it affects the market you have drawn in 3(a).

(c) Explain, using bullet points, the changes you have made on your graph. Use correct economic language.

4 (a) Draw a correctly labelled market for prunes.  

(b) Choose one of the factors from the “Demand Factors” column and clearly label how it affects the market you have drawn in 4(a). 

(c) Explain, using bullet points, the changes that you have made on your graph. Use correct economic language.