{"id":36656,"date":"2026-01-26T10:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T09:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondation-farm.org\/?p=36656"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:00:16","slug":"du-champ-a-lassiette-le-soutien-des-prix-du-marche-spm-entre-revenus-agricoles-et-pouvoir-dachat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fondation-farm.org\/en\/du-champ-a-lassiette-le-soutien-des-prix-du-marche-spm-entre-revenus-agricoles-et-pouvoir-dachat\/","title":{"rendered":"Market price support (MPS): supporting farmers without penalizing consumers, an impossible balance?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Market Price Support (MPS), <\/strong>\u00a0The non-budgetary channel of public agricultural support reveals major trade-offs. Between supporting producers and protecting consumers, it paints a picture of a profoundly unequal agricultural world, where prices favor some and tax others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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After deciphering budgetary expenditures in our previous section<\/a>, the Global Observatory of Public Support for Agriculture and Food<\/strong><\/a> focuses on the second pillar of agricultural support: Market Price Support (MPS)<\/strong>. If budgetary expenditures are the tip of the iceberg, the SPM (Strategic Performance Management) constitutes the submerged part. Less visible in state budgets, it is nonetheless crucial for the farmers' income<\/strong>, food safety<\/strong> and the competitiveness of sectors<\/strong> around the world.<\/p>\n

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Understanding market price supports (MPS)<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Before delving into international comparisons, it is essential to understand what Market Price Support (MPS) actually measures. This often technical concept nevertheless sheds light on an entire area of agricultural policy that falls outside the scope of public budgets. This section lays the groundwork: how MPS works, what it reveals, and why it is indispensable for analyzing price distortions.<\/p>\n

Unlike government spending (DPAA), which is actual disbursements from the government, SPM is an economic estimate of what the market transfers as a result of government policies. It measures the difference between the domestic price received by a farmer for his production and a reference price linked to international trade, adjusted to be comparable to the price observed on the domestic market.<\/strong> This discrepancy is not the result of chance, but the direct consequence of public policies: customs duties<\/strong>, import quotas<\/strong>, guaranteed prices<\/strong> or, conversely, export taxes<\/strong> And price control<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While public spending measures the budgetary effort of states, Market Price Support (MPS) measures the impact of trade and regulatory policies on the prices paid to producers. It thus reflects the extent of distortions induced by public policies on domestic agricultural markets.<\/p>\n

The analysis of the SPM is essential because it highlights two major trends in agricultural policies. On the one hand, some countries support their producers by maintaining high domestic prices. On the other hand, price policies result in an implicit taxation of agriculture, either to contain food prices or to capture public revenue from exports.<\/p>\n

This diversity is reflected in the value of the SPM, which can be positive, negative, or close to zero. Each of these configurations has distinct implications for farm incomes, access to food, and international competitiveness:<\/p>\n