EU Enlargement: The Impact on Agricultural and Food Exports from Selected Asian Countries to the EU Market—A Gravity Approach

Abstract

The process of EU economic integration took place gradually. The 5th enlargement in 2004 was the largest expansion of the EU. It affected the agricultural sector notably due to the economic structure of the new members from Central and Eastern Europe. This chapter aims to examine the effect of the 5th enlargement on exports of agricultural and food products from 8 major Asian countries towards the EU market. The refined gravity model is employed, using annual data during 1999–2015 with 12 product groups. The empirical findings reveal that the total exports of agricultural and food products from Hong Kong and Korea reduce, whereas exports from Indonesia increase. There was no significant change in exports of total agricultural products and food from China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. However, changes in exports of certain products in various countries are found.