Suchergebnisse

Based on estimation of the gravity equation, this article aims to scrutinise the trade effects emanating from the economic integration of the European Union (EU) by focusing on the trade diversion and trade creation effects of the fifth EU enlargement on 12 groups of agricultural and food products. This paper analyses the changes due to the EU's enlargement of trade patterns in the agricultural and food sectors among the EU member states and between EU and non-EU countries as well as the effects of the enlargement on exports of agricultural and food products from selected Asian countries to the EU market. Our analysis shows no decline in exports from EU to non-EU countries. Trade creation effects are significantly high for 4 product groups: seafood, woody plants, beverages and tobacco, and animal and vegetable materials. However, trade diversion effects are found in animal and vegetable oils and textile fibres. Moreover, the economic integration has had no significant effect on exports from Asian countries, namely agricultural and food products. The data of 38 countries cover the period 1999–2015.

- Purpose. Milk is one of the most produced, consumed and protected agricultural commodities worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to assess how trade-opening policies can foster food security in the Chinese milk sector. - Design/methodology/approach. The empirical evidence proposed in our paper is based on time series data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2019) and FAOSTAT (2020). Differences in income elasticity between urban and rural areas are estimated by OLS regressions. The data also provide empirical evidence to assess to what extent and to which countries China is resorting to meet its growing demand. - Findings. Per-capita milk consumption of Chinese is rising. The authors' estimates show that milk income elasticity is higher in rural areas. China is also progressively increasing its dependence on imports. Producers who benefit the most are those from countries implementing trade-opening policies. - Research limitations/implications. Other methods could be applied, by way of example, the gravitational model. - Practical implications. Trade agreements and the removal of barriers could be effective responses to protectionist pressures and to food security concerns. - Social implications. The case examined is of particular interest as it intervenes on food security and safety. - Originality/value. The paper adds value and evidence to the effects of trade on food security in a country with limited and exploited natural resources addressing a health emergency and environmental concerns.

Vietnam has made huge economic improvements since the mid-1980s, opening up to international relationships and undergoing important economic and political reforms. It is also listed among the countries most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate variability, forecasted rising temperatures and more frequent and intense severe climate-related natural disasters (floods, droughts, storms, typhoons, etc.). Rice plays an important role in Vietnam's national food security, rural development and political stability. The aim of this study is to analyze the pattern of domestic rice prices using potential variables from the supply and the demand side. It will focus on the role played by climate variability and severe weather events while also taking into account the strong public support for the sector. With this aim, the researchers have developed a regression model for mapping the domestic rice price through the generalized least squares model.

Palm oil production has had an extraordinary evolution since 2000, especially in Southeast Asian countries. Its profitability is related to lower market prices due to it having the cheapest production costs, compared to the other EU oils. Market forces have stimulated its production and trade, with a shift in the use of land in tropical countries (particularly in Southeast Asia). Palm oil has a high smoke point for its saturated fatty acid content, which is much healthier than the performance of conventional oils produced and used in Europe (corn, sunflower and peanut oil). The controversy of which palm oil has been the subject is linked to the environmental sustainability aspects of the production process. According to the European Commission, palm oil cultivation over the past 20 years has been the cause of 20% of global deforestation. However, our results highlighted that the price trends of selected vegetable oils are related to their variations. This allows the advancing of some hypotheses. On the supply side, the production costs (decisively in favour of palm oil) and the environmental constraints are affecting the vegetable oil market. On the demand side, the number and price, on the one hand of substitute products, and on the other hand of the complementary good as well as consumer taste and preference, all influence consumer behaviour. Consumer income and its distribution and, in both cases, public policies affect the various choices to be made. Public action should therefore consider these variables. A single policy may not be sufficient to steer the market in the right direction, especially in the logic of market globalisation.