In general, demand, supply and price are the main components of the economy in both competitive and non-competitive markets. The exchange of goods occurs every day and everywhere in the world, so to maximize profit and resource use, companies need to know approximately the quantity of goods required by customers. This short essay will discuss market mechanisms in general and in the UK food market in particular. What are supply and demand? First, we should briefly understand some basic concepts and the relationships between them in the economic environment. Demand is about the quantity of goods that satisfy human desires while supply is about providing the desired or needed products. Furthermore, prices have a great influence on them. Business profit depends on it. When the price rises, the quantity demanded falls and vice versa. This means that demand and price have an inverse relationship. On the other hand, the quantity supplied will increase as the price increases, so they change in the same direction. According to the table below: We can see that the purchased quantity of pork sausage decreased by 3% as a result of the price of was increased by 4% in four weeks up to March 21, 2010. Furthermore, when the price of chilled ready meals at Pork meat base decreased dramatically by 33%, consumption recorded a significant increase of 24%. However, the quantity purchased still increased even in the event of price increases. There is some evidence to show that meat provides more energy and nutrients than vegetables, so its requirement for daily meals cannot be reduced. For example, a 3-ounce serving of lean sirloin steak has 180 calories, while a 3-ounce serving of green leaf lettuce has only...half of paper......wheels (American entertainer, famous for the his concise and homely, 1879-1935) available on thinkexist.com – retrieved 28 October 2011 at 8.30pm BBC's Jeremy Cooke reports: “rain and drought: the UK's two autumns” on 24 October 2011 last updated at 7pm :17 – retrieved 24 October 2011. BBC News: "Thailand flood death toll 'top 500'" 6 November 2011 Last updated at 10.32) - retrieved 27/11/2011 at 16.05 Index of food and beverage (F&B) prices - Includes food and beverage Price indices for the world, all years - Statistics available at economywatch.com - retrieved December 5, 2011 at 10:00 pm Report: "Consumer Price Indexes August 2011" available on ons.gov.uk - retrieved 5 December 2011 at 10.30pm Jay Rayner: “Steep increase in demand for food aid from poverty-stricken families” 1 October 2011 – accessed 6 December 2011 at 20:52