Abstract
Fisheries has always played a vital role in supporting livelihoods and ensuring food security and sustainable economic and social development in Southeast Asia. Historically, rural and coastal communities across the region have heavily relied on the fish trade as an indispensable source of income and employment. With the establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies and large fish traders like China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, there is a threat for smaller countries to lose competitive advantages in the regional market. By studying bilateral trade flows between fifteen RCEP members in 2010–2019 and matching indicative untapped trade potentials (ITP method) with revealed comparative (RCA method), relative trade (RTA method), and competitive (Lafay index) advantages across 210 pairs of countries, the authors found substantial misbalances between potential values of country-to-country trade and actual advantages of RCEP economies. To optimize gains from intraregional trade for both smaller and larger RCEP members, this study identified advantageous and disadvantageous trading destinations and product categories for individual countries. The recommendations were then generalized along the four groups of economies based on their level of income, contribution to overall RCEP trade in fish, and the share of fishery products in the national trade turnover. From a practical side, the study adds to the knowledge about the fish trade in Asia by detailing how countries can better utilize individual combinations of advantages. From a methodological side, the approach can be employed widely outside the RCEP to establish a reliable picture of potential gains or losses of a particular country in trade with its counterparts across varied sets of competitive advantages.
Highlights
Fish and fishery products have played a crucial role in establishing food security [1], in poor coastal communities [2,3], and contributed to the economic development of many nations around the world [4,5]
In light of the revealed diverse relationships between indicative trade potentials and the three types of advantages that differentiate between bigger and smaller Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries, we discuss the findings separately for major trading nations, countries that specialize in trade in fish and fishery products, smaller economies, and other economies of the region
International trade in fish and seafood products will continue to grow with Asia increasingly gaining importance and becoming the world’s largest supplier
Summary
Fish and fishery products have played a crucial role in establishing food security [1], in poor coastal communities [2,3], and contributed to the economic development of many nations around the world [4,5]. Fishery products have become one of the world’s most heavily traded food commodities [11], with over half of exports to developed countries originating from developing economies of Asia, Latin America, and Africa (compared to 39% in the 1970s) [12]. The share of developing countries of the total quantity of fish production increased from 39% in 1976 to 60% in 2018, supported by the rapid development of aquaculture and investment in export market facilities and infrastructure, in China and Southeast Asia [12].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
