In a perfectly competitive market, if firms exit the market due to sustained economic losses, the long-run adjustment process will always lead to a return to the original equilibrium price, regardless of changes in consumer preferences or production costs.

In a perfectly competitive market, many firms sell identical products, and no single firm can influence the market price. If some firms start to lose money and exit the market, the total supply of the product decreases. With fewer firms in the market, the remaining firms can sell their goods at a higher price because the demand for the product remains the same. As the price rises, it may attract new firms to enter the market, restoring the total supply and eventually bringing the price back to the original equilibrium. For example, if a market for oranges sees some farmers leave due to losses, the remaining farmers can charge more for their oranges, leading to new farmers coming in, which stabilizes the price again.