The article deals with the theoretical analysis of the stages of the food market development, the function of which is based on the interaction between quantitative (the solvent demand of the population, the offer of food products from producers, and their price level) and qualitative rating (the satisfaction of consumers’ requirements with the main characteristics of foodstuff and producers’ satisfaction with the profit level of food production). The term “food market” has been improved in a relation to the institutional theory. The examination of the state and tendencies of the national food market development has been carried out. It is determined that providing the population of the country with the food products requires a considerable improvement of the state regulation of food market, especially in case of negative tendencies leading to reduction of the internal market extent.

Key words: agrarian sector, state regulation, consumption rate, food security, food market.