Post WTO Research Articles

Tea Trade Scenario in the Pre and Post Liberalization Period in India

Indian tea, which has maintained its supremacy both in production and export for more than a century, has started to lose its pre-eminence. Other tea producing countries like China, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Kenya are strongly competing for Market share. The increase in production in China has pushed India to second position in production and the country lost its domination of the export market to Kenya, China and Sri Lanka. Given this backdrop, the present study attempts to analyse the export growth, instability in export earnings, export quantity and unit value and concentration of export destinations evaluate India’s tea export performance. The growth of export quantity, value and unit value from India (1988-2022) was worked out using compound growth rate and the results indicated an increased growth in the post–WTO period which could be attributed to the expansion in trade to the Near East, with their growth and strength of the economies in the region (Hicks, 2009). Instability in export can affect the economic growth of the country as it has adverse effect on the countries export earnings, trade balance, and confidence of international trading partners. The export instability calculated using Coppock’s instability index showed an increasing trend in the post-WTO period. In 1990’s about 6 countries viz., U.S.S.R, U.K, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Poland accounted for about 90 per cent of total tea exports from India. But over a period of time the demand in these countries weakened. The Indian exports continue to lose volume in countries like Russia Europe, USA and some middle east countries (Dutt, 2007). The share in Iraq, Netherland and Poland was maintained and it improved in UAE, Germany, Pakistan and china. Overall in the past 3 decades, India’s world ranking as an exporter has dropped to fourthowing to competition from China, Kenya and Sri Lanka. (Majumder et al., 2010). The reduction in values of the Hirschmann index indicated increased geographic diversification of tea exports thereby reducing the possibility of market risk due to dependence on few markets. The commodity diversification in the form of various tea products exported is very limited, the major share of exports being in the form of black tea especially in bulk form. Received: 1 February 2024 / Accepted: 29 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024

Growth, Export Performance and Trade Competitiveness of Lentil (Lens culinaris) From Nepal

The lentil (Lens culinaris) sector in Nepal has realized as an export potential commodity but lacks adequate trade related research and development. To study the growth, export performance and trade competitiveness of Nepalese lentil, secondary data pertaining for the period of 30 years (1990–2019 A.D.) were analyzed classifying as pre and post WTO period for Nepal. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), Cuddy-Delle Velle instability index, export performance ratio, reveled comparative advantage (RCA), trade specialization and Herfindahl-Hirschman index were analyzed. The trend analysis showed highly fluctuation with the growth rate of 40.31 and 42.24 percent per annum has been noticed in import value and quantity respectively. Whereas; the export quantity is found negative growth of 0.43 percent and export value with the growth of 1.44 percent. High instability was found in all parameters of export and import and highest variation was noticed for pre-WTO period in comparison to post-WTO. Nepal enjoys relatively strong competitiveness in export of lentil with RCA value greater than 1. Trade specialization index fluctuated over the years, it remains in the stage of import substitution declining from growth stage and have witnessed positive direction to revive the lentil export performance from Nepal. Herfindahl-Hirschman index showed that the Nepalese lentil market for export is highly concentrated which can lead to high economic risks. Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 11, Issue-(1-2): 7-16.

SECTOR-WISE CHANGES IN THE INDIAN LABOUR MARKET: DURING PRE AND POST WTO REGIME

SECTOR-WISE CHANGES IN THE INDIAN LABOUR MARKET: DURING PRE AND POST WTO REGIME

Nature and Extent of Crop Diversification in Rajasthan: District-wise Analysis

"The present study was conducted to measure the nature and extent of crop diversification in different districts of Rajasthan and based on 39 years time series data and collected from various published sources, whole set of data were divided in two periods (pre WTO 1980-1995 and post WTO 1996-2014) and separate analysis was done to compare the extent of crop diversification in both the periods. Herfindhal index was used to measure diversification. Results found that both Jaisalmer and Barmer district moved from crop specialization to moderate diversification from first to second period. Jodhpur, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jalore and Churu districts have obtained the values between 0.35 and 0.47 for first period which indicated moderate diversification in cropping pattern during first period whereas Jodhpur, Sikar, Jalore has obtained value of herfindhal index been range “between” 0.28 to 0.31 which indicated complete diversification in second period and Rajsamand, Udaipur and Churu districts indicated moderate crop diversification in the first and second period of the study. Herfindhal index value for remaining districts of the state were found between 0.08 to 0.33 which indicated complete diversification in cropping pattern of the districts in the first and second period of the study except Dungarpur district and it has been shifted from complete diversification to moderate diversification from first period to second period. Results also indicated that newly added district Karauli showed complete diversification in second period. During the first and second period highest value of herfindhal index was found in Jaisalmer (0.89) and Barmer (0.54) respectively. While lowest value of index was observed in Bundi district during both periods."

An Empirical Evaluation of the Seafood Exports in the Post-WTO Regime from India and Kerala

Seafood export sector is a major trade item in the globalized trade of all commodities. However, the fishery trade sector witnessed profound changes in the post-WTO period. This is because of the use of several technical and non-tariff trade barriers, which in most cases are stipulated by the importing developed countries. India is a prominent fishery exporting country with a foreign exchange earnings of $ 6.1 billion as per January 2022. State of Kerala is having a good legacy in seafood trade and one of the major fishery’s exporting coastal states of India. The post-WTO period has witnessed many dynamics in the fishery trade both in India and Kerala. The stipulations in the areas of TBT and NTBs and other quality standards have worked as a penumbra in the seafood trade and hence have to search for the traditional to non-traditional and emerging markets with the idea of uninterrupted seafood trade flow. Hence, the article tries to unravel the issues of these in this post WTO period. The article uses the data obtained from the Marine Products Export Development Authority in the form of monthly, quarterly and annual data. Along with this it also uses data from CEPII and UN Comtrade. The result also shows that there is a change from traditional to new markets in some cases, whereas the US and EU still dominate as major importers of the seafood from India and Kerala. The Gravity model explanation is giving a clear espousal that the values under stipulations are significantly related. The instability model also authenticates that there are instabilities in varying proportions from market to market.

TBT Stipulations and Stakeholder Responses: Repercussions in the Sea Food Sector of India and the Tuning up Process in the State of Kerala

Sea food is a globally traded product. The trading is mostly from the developing to the developed countries. The very basic factor beholding this is the income elasticity driven demand from the affluent consumers of the developed world. The rich fishery resource availability of the developing countries has helped to become the major beneficiaries of this trade process. The rich resource of India and Kerala have indeed helped in reaping this benefit. However, the post WTO period also witnessed big transformation in the fishery trade with more stringent restrictions, regulations and quality assurance practices mostly imposed by the importers of seafood. These include strict quality standards stipulations, technical barriers and non-tariff barriers imposed by the developed economies towards seafood exports. In these, TBT measures and SPS standards have differently been treated by different importers in the EU, Japan and the US and this is stipulated mostly for the prime export item of Kerala the shrimp. Though it has affected every seafood exporter globally, its repercussion in India and Kerala is also big as these measures have been detrimental to the progress of the export sector. India could soon try to galvanize these issues. The result is that India has come out from the shackles of TBT conundrums. But the fact is that when one of the issues is settled, the EU and the US are coming with newer stipulations. The paper tries to addresses the fisheries trade with the existing theoretical framework. It also gives an overview of various agreements prevailing in the seafood export sector with the aid of secondary information. Keywords: Fishery Trade, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Non-Tariff Barriers (NTB), Trade agreements, Sanitary and Phytosanitary, Codex, WTO. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-10-07 Publication date: May 31 st 2022

Export of Tea from India in post WTO era - Performance and Determinants

Share of tea export in total agricultural export depicted a decreasing trend during post-WTO era. To analyze the performance of tea in post WTO scenario, the time series data on exports was divided into three periods (Period-I: 1995-96 to 1999-00, Period-II: 2000-01 to 2008-09, and Period-III: 2009-10 to 2018-19). The study revealed that the quantity of export, value of total export, and unit value of export was depicting significant and positive growth throughout the periods, instability of unit value of export and value of export was higher in Period-II than others. Russian federation, USA, UK, UAE and Iran were identified as the major export destination of Indian tea. The international price of tea as well as coffee and exchange rate were identified as the key determinants of tea export from India.

Implications of Food Price Shocks on Availability of Food: Evidences from the Indian Economy

In the backdrop of liberalized trade of agricultural commodity in post WTO regime, reform measures is reflected in the change of domestic prices vis-à-vis international prices of food articles. Physical availability of food is purposively selected as a food security indicator in this paper due to its conceptual linkages of food price movement and domestic food supply. A declining trend in the per capita availability of food grains in the post reform period suggests a net export of food grains. Government intervention in procurement and distribution of food grains helps in insulating the shock of food prices in post food crisis situation. Empirical evidences also suggest that there exists a bi-directional causality in between relative price and net export, or food grains production, or government procurement of foodgrains. A responsive change in foodgrains production, net imports, foodgrains procurement and change in the government stock is followed by food price shocks.

Performance and determinants of maize production in India

The present study has examined the growth, instability and determinants of maize production in India from the period 1980-81 to 2015-16. Compound Annual Growth Rate, Cudda-Della Valle method and Regression analysis were used in the study. The results revealed that significant higher growth rates in area, production and productivity of maize are found during post-WTO in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and India as a whole. Tamil Nadu is the only state among the selected ones to show high instability in production during both pre and post WTO periods, whereas, Maharashtra indicated the presence of high instability in production during pre WTO period. The variable irrigated area is found as a key factor in increasing maize production in Tamil Nadu. Rainfall is one among the limiting factors in maize production, which led to low productivity due to prolonged dry spells. Therefore, there is a need to explore the possibilities i.e., educating the farmers to use high quality seed or drought mitigation strategies to provide technical know-how and other support to the farmers in order to increase maize productivity.

Changing Pattern in india's Agricultural exports under WTO

Agriculture came under the WTO regime in 1995 when Agreement on Agriculture was negotiated. In India, agriculture accounts for about 12% of total exports earnings which implies that uncertainty in the world agriculture market will have a great impact on the whole economy. Several studies have compared the trend of India's agricultural export in the pre and post WTO period but this paper goes a step ahead and apart from comparing the trend, it also brings the commodity wise analysis of agricultural trade in order to have an idea of the changing pattern of trade and most importantly the paper measures the convergence or divergence of agricultural exports over the years through Simpson Index. The study found that in pre WTO period, an attempt was made to achieve specialisation in agricultural exports whereas no such attempt was made in post WTO period. The study concludes that WTO has mixed impact on India's agricultural exports. It has helped India to improve its position in global agricultural exports but it did not allow her to gain expertise in the exports of agricultural products and specialise in the commodity of its comparative advantage.

Services Exports and SAARC Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Growth, Performance and Competitive Advantage

Emerging new information processing and telecommunication technologies have given India an edge in exports of services. The analysis in this regard depicted that competitiveness and performance of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries in services exports is of crucial importance. The analysis in this paper is based on revealed comparative advantage methodology and covers the period 2002–2013. The evidence points out that India managed to produce and export modern services and gained comparative advantage and specialization due to supportive institutions and infrastructure. Further, services exports performance also evidently shows that India has emerged as the largest SAARC country in exports of services especially during the post WTO and GATS era. Therefore, the present study suggests India should invest in research and development of new technologies to produce quality services to further improve its position in world services exports.

Growth and Export Performance of Ginger in India– An Economic Analysis

India is rightly called as “spice bowl of the world” for its production of variety and superior quality of spices. Indian agriculture has to face competitiveness in international trade for each commodity due to liberalisation and agreement of WTO. Spices are the major exports from India and it is generally expected that trade policies would influence the spice trade. In the area of export ginger occupies fifth position in terms of quality and sixth position in export earnings among the spices. In recent years, there have been ups and downs in export of ginger from India. This situation called for a detailed study. Hence this study was conducted to analyze growth and export performance of ginger in India. The required data collected for the period of 29 years. The objectives are analyzed with nominal protection coefficient and growth rate analysis. The growth rate between pre and post-WTO period in terms of area and production were positive. The export growth of post WTO period in terms of quantity and values were found to be not significant and declining but unit price value were found to be significant and positive. Nominal protection coefficient was found to be more than one indicates the non profitability of export.

WTO-Environment Synergy: Myth or Progressive Reality?

Trade and environment have always been uncomfortable colleagues since the inception of the World Trade Organization and free trade. However, post the Singapore rounds in 1996, it is said that a new kind of free trade has emerged that is more conscientious and aware about environmental impacts and sustenance. While trade remains the primary objective, the WTO has taken it upon itself the task of striking a balance between liberalizing the integrated global economy and acting as a vanguard to precautionary and sustainable environmental principles. This article will look into the inter phase between trade and environment as witnessed under the pre and post WTO regimes and critically analyse judicial pronouncements and best practices to better understand this alliance.

Trade Compatibility between India and ASEAN Countries

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed at product group, HS-2 and HS-4 levels to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation.

Trade Complementarity and Similarity Between India and ASEAN Countries in the Context of the RTA

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Regionalism versus Multilateralism debate is not resolved decisively as there are divergent views on the methodology of trade liberalization. The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. India after its initial reluctance, exploring the path of regionalism to improve trade performance and to acquire leadership role on regional issues. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed for 16 product group to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation. While India got comparative advantage in Food grains, Minerals, Chemicals, Jems and Jewellery and manufactured products, ASEAN countries are in an advantageous position in Electrical goods, electronic products, vegetable oils, rubber products and agricultural products.

Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry: study of select parameters

PurposeInnovation is the key to sustained competitive edge, especially for organizations functioning in a fast changing environment. The purpose of this paper is to understand select factors affecting innovation in Indian pharmaceutical organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis first tries to find relationships between the variables on a one‐to‐one basis, by conducting a step‐wise regression analysis. Thereafter, the analysis is taken a step further to find out the effect of interaction between the variables.FindingsThe findings are interesting in the sense that while the one‐on‐one analysis did not yield significant results, the interaction analysis yielded significant results.Practical implicationsAn organizations' performance should be looked at as a function of the interaction effect of many variables and not as straight linear equations. This would give a more realistic understanding of the entire domain of organizational functioning.Originality/valueThis paper presents a study done in an Indian environment to understand the functioning in original as compared to adapting the frameworks developed elsewhere. This assumes relevance specifically in the post WTO era wherein the impetus of survival of the pharmaceutical industry is innovation.

Strategic Options for SMEs in Steel Sector in Post WTO Era: An Empirical Study in the Indian Context

Small and Medium Enterprises have been globally recognized as vital components of a domestic economy and major contributors to employment generation in a country, regardless of global barriers. SMEs form the lifeblood of any vibrant economy. In an emerging economy like India, SMEs have a significant socio-economic role to ensure overall development of the nation.Steel Sector is an important and booming sector in India. The Indian Steel Industry is undergoing transformation due to the new economic policy and business environment in the post WTO regime. With the delicensing of the entire steel industry and the removal of the restrictions on foreign investments, almost all the important global players have entered in the Indian Industry. It has still a huge scope for either direct entry or through collaborations with the local companies.This paper examines the problems, strategies for investments, competency development, technological up gradation, quality improvement, Govt. Policies, Equity participation by MNCs and overall improvement of this sector in the post WTO regime. The study has been done by using data acquired from an extensive survey of Indian SMEs in the Steel Sector and from the experienced Bankers/ Officials/Policy makers of Govt. of India.

An Empirical Study of SMEs in Electronics Industry in India: Retrospect & Prospects in Post WTO Era

Small and Medium Enterprises have been globally recognized as vital components of a domestic economy and major contributors to employment generation in a country, regardless of global barriers. SMEs form the lifeblood of any vibrant economy. In an emerging economy like India, SMEs have a significant socio-economic role to ensure overall development of the nation.Electronic Sector is an upcoming sector in India. The Indian Electronic Industry is undergoing transformation due to the new economic policy and business environment in the post WTO regime. With the delicensing of the entire consumer electronics industry and the removal of the restrictions on foreign investments, almost all the important global players like Thomson, Sony, National, LG and Samsung have entered in the Indian Industry. It has still a huge scope for either direct entry or through collaborations with the local companies.This paper examines the problems, strategies for investments, competences development, technological up gradation, quality improvement, Govt. Policies, Equity participation by MNCs and overall improvement of this sector in the post WTO regime. The study has been done by using data acquired from an extensive survey of Indian SMEs in the Textile Sector and from the experienced Bankers/ Officials/Policy makers of Govt. of India.The key findings of the study are that lack of quality consciousness, growth conducive environment, inadequate governemnt support and difficulties in raising funds from market. Further, the study highlights the need to upgrade technology in the Indian Electronic SME Sector and also develop a strong and supportive Financial System .

Prospects and Challenges for SMEs in Textile Sector in the Post WTO Era: An Empirical Study in the Indian Context

The Indian Textile Sector occupies an important place in the Indian Economy. This is one of the oldest and most significant industries in the country. India’s Textile Industry is an attractive sector that is poised for growth post the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) regime. The industry enjoys significant strengths and advantages, such as availability of raw material, labour, large domestic market and supporting Government policies to a certain extent. It provides employment opportunities to millions of people. In order to continue to play this role, Indian SMEs in Textile Sector have to be competitive and commercially viable. Industrial units will have to undertake changes, technological or other as a reaction to the developments in their business environment. The study examines the problems, strategies for investments, competency development, technological upgradation, quality improvement, Government policies, alternative sources of finance such as equity participation by MNCs and overall improvement of this sector in the post WTO regime. The study is based on data gathered from an extensive survey of Indian SMEs in the Textile Sector and from the experienced Bankers/ Officials/Policy makers of Govt. of India.

Strategies for Enhancing Competitiveness of Indian Small and Medium Plastic Products Manufacturing Units in Post WTO Regime

In the present era of technology, the use of plastic products has become an integral part of most of the manufacturing industries. Asia has been the world’s largest plastics consumer for several years, accounting for 30 per cent of the world’s total consumption. The Top 10 Trading Partners for Indian Plastic products include USA, UAE, Italy, UK, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, China and Hong Kong. In India, the Plastic Sector has been exhibiting a consistent export growth rate of 10 to 12% over the past few years.This paper examines the issues of pressures and constraints, strategies for investments, competencies development, cost reduction, quality improvement for enhancing competitiveness of Indian small and medium plastic products manufacturing units in the post WTO regime. The key findings of the study have been - (a) need to upgrade the technology in the Indian Plastic Industry (b) need for a strong and supportive Financial System to facilitate easy access to funds (c) quality improvement, cost reduction and innovations to increase product variety (d) inadequate Government support (e) Improvements in maintenance, process capability, and product design