Factors forming the competitive environment in the agricultural market: analysis of modern approaches

The article conceptually analyzes modern approaches to assessing the factors shaping the competitive environment in agricultural markets. The purpose of the study is to examine views suggesting that competitive relations in agricultural markets are determined not only by classical market structure indicators, but also by the biological characteristics of production, the risk environment, and the coordination and bargaining relations formed among market participants. The article presents the Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) paradigm, developed within industrial economics, as a theoretical basis and discusses the limitations of its application to the agricultural sector. At the same time, the article examines modern approaches to the impact of structural asymmetries in the agri-food value chain, the concentration of market power at the processing and retail stages, the development of supermarket and e-commerce channels, as well as bargaining power in the context of contract farming, vertical coordination, and integration mechanisms on competitive relations, and provides relevant assessments.