Seasonal patterns in food markets in North-West Europe around the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Transactions at periodic markets in France, England, and Belgium (1820-1850)

This article explores seasonal patterns in grain markets in England, France and Belgium between the 1820s and 1840s. More particularly, the magnitude and regularity of seasonal cycles are investigated for the trade in wheat, rye, oats, and barley. It is found that the grain trade followed a seasonal cycle in all the areas investigated. Usually, the volume traded was largest in the months following the harvest and smaller during spring and summer. The magnitude of these cycles tended to be larger in the English and smaller in the French areas considered, while the regularity of seasonal patterns was often more pronounced in the Paris basin. We explain these patterns by evoking technical constraints (availability of labour, labour-saving technology, demand by the processing industry, demand for fodder, storage techniques, and the conditions for transport) as well as social and economic constraints (payment of rents, consumer preferences, and the degree of economic specialization).