In general, demand, supply and price are the main components of the economy in competitive and non-competitive markets. The exchange of goods takes place every day and all over the world. Thus, in order to maximize profits and resource utilization, companies must know approximately the quantity of goods that customers need. This short essay will discuss the market mechanism in general and the food market in the UK in particular. What are demand and supply? First of all, we need to briefly understand some basic concepts and the relationships between them in the economic environment. Demand is about the quantity of goods that satisfy human needs, while supply is about providing the products wanted or needed. In addition, the price has a great influence on them. Business profits depend on it. When price increases, quantity demanded decreases and vice versa. This means that demand and price have an inverse relationship. On the other hand, the quantity supplied will increase when the price increases so they will move in the same direction. According to the table below: We see that the quantity purchased of pork sausage decreased by 3% following the price of it increased by 4% in four weeks until March 21, 2010. In addition, when the price of chilled pork ready meals decreased significantly by 33%, consumption saw a significant increase of 24%. However, the quantity purchased continued to increase even with price accumulation. There is some evidence that proves that meat provides more energy and nutrients than vegetables, so their daily food requirement cannot be reduced. Currently, a 3-ounce serving of lean sirloin steak contains 180 calories, while a 3-ounce serving of green lettuce contains only...... middle of paper ......uote ( American artist, famous for his concise, homemade book, 1879-1935) available on thinkexist.com – retrieved October 28, 2011 at 8:30 p.m. BBC's Jeremy Cooke reports: "Rain and drought: Britain's two autumns" October 24, 2011, last updated 7:17 p.m. - retrieved October 24, 2011. BBC News: "Thailand flood death toll is the “top 500” » November 6, 2011 Last updated at 10:32 a.m.) - retrieved 11/27/2011 at 4:05 p.m. Food and Beverage (F&B) Price Index - Includes food and beverage Price Indices for the world , all years – Statistics available on economywatch.com – retrieved on December 5, 2011 at 10:00 p.m. Report: “Consumer Price Indices August 2011” available on ons.gov.uk – retrieved December 5, 2011 at 10:30 p.m. Rayner: “Strong increase in demand for food distribution from poor families” October 1, 2011 - retrieved December 6, 2011 at 8 p.m.52