World Agricultural Trade Research Articles

Dynamics of Household Consumption Expenditure on Food Items in Punjab

In the present era of rapid technological transformation it is worth studying the dynamics of household consumption expenditure on various food items as the change in technology has an impact on consumer's taste and preferences. Higher income, urbanization, other demographic shifts, improved transportation, and consumer perceptions regarding quality and safety are changing global food consumption patterns. Variations in food consumption have led to an increase in trade and changes in the composition of world agricultural trade. The study about the consumption expenditure was conducted on the basis of the data collected from two districts of Punjab i.e. Faridkot and Ludhiana. Then 200 consumers from urban area and 200 consumers from rural area were selected randomly so as to make a comparative analysis of dynamics of consumption expenditure in Punjab. To achieve the basic objectives of the study various suitable techniques were employed. For that purpose regression analysis in the algebraic form of linear, double-log and semi-log were applied. Engel's elasticity were also worked out. The study showed that there was a non-linear relationship between expenditure on the majority of the consumption items and income among urban consumers. The findings were supported by the Gini- coefficient for urban as well as for rural consumers and analysis showed that consumption disparity was more in urban areas than in rural areas in Punjab.

War in Ukraine: Impact on global agri-food trade

The conditions and trends of the global agri-food market are elastic to crises and conflicts involving major market players, which threatens food security by blocking sustainable international trade opportunities due to the destruction of production capacity and value chains, as well as supply channels to consumer countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific features and consequences of the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict on world agricultural trade and food security at the national and global levels. The scientific conclusions are the result of the application of economic and statistical (time series, index, and factor analysis) and dialectical (induction and deduction, analysis, and synthesis) methods of scientific cognition. It was found that the universal features of wars include the ability to influence the global economy, create new geopolitical and economic uncertainty, rapidly increase prices for critical resources (energy), and ensure destabilisation of global value chains. As a result, the disruption of sustainable trade flows caused by military conflicts is an important source of changes in the global economy and the situation of individual countries and regions. It was proved that military operations on the territory of Ukraine led to restrictions in agriculture and forced adaptation of agribusiness to the factors of critical vulnerability. There are trends towards a reduction in production and the breakdown of conventional supply chains for agri-food products due to the destruction of the logistics infrastructure, which, together with a reduction in exports of agricultural products and fertilisers from Russia, has led to a rise in world food prices. As a result, the “price” of the Russian-Ukrainian war for the global economy is being formed, with growing hunger and poverty, as well as the environmental footprint of military operations. The practical significance of the findings of this study lies in the possibility of their application in strategic planning and substantiation of the areas of post-war reconstruction of the national economy in general and its agricultural sector specifically, as well as the restoration and strengthening of Ukraine’s role in global food chains and combating hunger

Management of foreign economic activity of agricultural enterprises in the context of stabilization of the national economy

The study is devoted to assessing the consequences of the war in Ukraine for the world trade in agricultural products and substantiating the peculiarities of managing the foreign economic activity of agricultural enterprises of the country in the military and post-war periods in the context of stabilizing the national economy. Based on the analysis, the author identifies the critical components of the effects of the war in Ukraine on world agricultural trade, which are geographically specific and contextual. The impact of the aggressor country's actions on the territory of Ukraine on international trade and economic relations is determined. The spatial and commodity structure of Ukraine's trade integration relations in agricultural production in the pre-war and war periods is considered and studied. It is noted that despite Ukraine's small share in the total volume of world trade and production, the country's integration into international agricultural markets is quite significant. It is proved that the domestic agricultural sector is a powerful exporter of agricultural products for several items, including staple foods. Ukraine retained its place among the world's five most prominent exporters of agricultural products in 2022. The main products of domestic agricultural exports have traditionally been grains and oilseeds, various oils, residues of the food and processing industry, meat, and offal. It is substantiated that for stabilizing the national economy, it is necessary to modernize all sectors of the Ukrainian economy, including agriculture. It is necessary not only to rebuild them to pre-war levels but also to profoundly transform the country at all levels (macro, meso, and micro), from business models and technologies, infrastructure, and logistics to a radical overhaul of institutions. The main strategic goal was to maintain Ukraine's full membership in the EU. Keywords: Agri-food market, agricultural products, foreign economic activity management, agricultural enterprises, stabilization of the national economy, sustainable development paradigm, international trade, war in Ukraine, development.

Identificação de genótipos de soja tolerantes a diferentes concentrações de NaCl

Soybean is the main product of Brazilian agriculture, strengthening the country's position as one of the most important commodities in world agricultural trade. However, the salinity present in soils and irrigation waters can hinder the production process and generate economic damage. With the aim of selecting soybean genotypes tolerant to different sodium chloride (NaCl) conditions, 5 soybean genotypes were sown in rolls germitest paper with NaCl solutions at concentrations of 00, 40 and 80 mM. The evaluated characteristics were: final seedling stand, length of root and aerial part of the plant, fresh weight, dry weight of cotyledons, root and aerial part, percentage of germination, index of speed of germination and average time of germination. The design used was completely randomized, in a 3x5 factorial arrangement. The TMG 2383 genotype stood out from the others in the presence of salinity with a greater growth compared to the tested genotypes. The soybean varieties SYN 16861 IPRO, M8644 IPRO, TMG 2383 IPRO and NS8383 RR showed a certain level of resistance to saline stress. The genotypes resistant to saline stress can be used in genetic improvement programs in order to develop new cultivars with greater resistance to saline stress.

Food supplying in Ukraine and the world under COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of the article is to study an impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of global agricultural market, situation with food supplying in Ukraine and other countries, as well as to assess development of related processes in the near future. Research methods. Methods used: theoretical generalization - for describing the overall situation in global, regional and national agri-food markets due to the effects of coronavirus pandemic from 2020 to the present, analysis and synthesis - for studying food security in separate countries and globally for now and in the near future, taking into account current situation, finding aggregate values of world agricultural trade for the analyzed period, comparative evaluation - for comparing quantitative, cost and other relative indicators that characterize food supplying in 2019 and 2020, finding confirmatory or negative relevant trends during the incomplete year 2021, graphical and tabular - for better visualization of quantitative indicators used in the article. Research results. The dissemination of anti-pandemic measures in the world and in Ukraine is considered, the growth of absolute and relative food expenditures in different regions of the world is shown, quantitative data on undernourished people in some parts of the world are given, the situation with agri-food imports to Ukraine and its influence in 2020-2021 on the domestic market is determined, price indices for food in the world according to FAO and Ukraine according to state statistics, including quantitative consumption, are described, showed summary estimations for production major groups of crop and livestock products until 2030 inclusive. Scientific novelty. The difference in indicators of agri-food trade, food expenditures, number of people suffering from hunger, as well as price indices for basic food products in the world in general and in Ukraine in particular between "pre-pandemic" 2019 and 2020-2021, which are characterized by significant spread of the pandemic. Practical significance. The provisions of the article are aimed at informing Ukrainian agricultural enterprises with foreign economic profile, consumers of products and government agencies about changes in domestic and foreign agricultural markets in order to develop a common strategy and tactics of possible actions and systematical measures to prevent negative consequences due to significant increase in uncertainties over the past period. Tabl.: 2. Figs.: 2. Refs.: 17.

Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and biological control of agricultural pests in Latin America

AbstractThe well-diversified Latin American agriculture plays an essential role in the economy of that region, through the export of food and agricultural commodities. The region is expected to continue playing a significant role in world agricultural production and trade. Carabid beetles are efficient consumers of arthropod pests and weed seeds on agricultural land, which makes them a target for studies by entomologists aiming to determine whether predatory carabids are capable of suppressing pest populations. However, carabids have been mostly studied in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, evidence for carabids as biocontrol agents of agricultural pests in Latin America is examined, aiming to improve understanding of this predator group in Latin American agroecosystems. The records found were organized into the following subject areas: conservation tactics, biocontrol agents, agricultural practices, and population survey. The literature review identified several gaps in knowledge of these topics, which made it possible to indicate potential research projects related to noncrop habitats, population studies, and consumption of weed seeds. Laboratory investigations of carabids’ predatory capacity indicated that they have the potential to control pests. However, field studies have failed to demonstrate that carabids significantly decreased pest densities. Although polyculture is a traditional practice of smallholder farmers in Latin America, the literature involving carabids and this sustainable agriculture practice is sparse. Looking forward, the utilization of polyculture and the existing no-till system in large fields provide opportunities for future research on ground beetles in Latin America.

Cocoa Markets and Value Chains: Dynamics and Challenges For Sao Tome and Principe Organic Smallholders

Cocoa is one of the main goods in the world agricultural trade markets, occupying the third position in exports. The paper introduces the cocoa value chain worldwide, its asymmetries, and the supply and value chain specific to the São Tomé and Principe (STP) organic cocoa. It aims to understand this value chain’s internal and external tensions and analyse its potential to be inserted in the international markets. The study uses panel data analysis from the FAOSTAT database. The tensions mentioned are due to the asymmetries of international markets and those regarding the production of organic cocoa in STP. At the level of STP and, despite measures to support organic production as a valuable alternative to the country’s development strategy, imbalances in the value chain persist that compromise the livelihoods of small producers responsible for most of production exported and the sustainability of the ecosystem.

Impact of COVID-19 on China's agricultural trade

PurposeThe outbreak of the novel COVID-19 virus has spread throughout the world, causing unprecedented disruption to not only China's agricultural trade but also the world's agricultural trade at large. This paper attempts to provide a preliminary analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on China's agricultural importing and exporting from both short- and long-term perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThis study seeks to analyze how the outbreak of COVID-19 could potentially impact China's agricultural trade. With respect to exports, the authors have pinpointed major disruptive factors arising from the pandemic which have affected China's agricultural exports in both the short and long term; in doing so, we employ scenario analysis which simulates potential long-term effects. With regard to imports, possible impacts of the pandemic regarding the prospects of food availability in the world market are investigated. Using scenario analysis, the authors estimate the potential change in China's food market—especially meat import growth—in light of the implementation of the newly signed Sino-US Economic and Trade Agreement (SUETA).FindingsThe results show that China's agricultural exports have been negatively impacted in the short-term, mostly due to the disruption of the supply chain. In the long term, dampened external demand and potential imposition of non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs) will exert more profound and lasting negative effects on China's agricultural export trade. On the other hand, despite panic buying and embargoing policies from some exporting and importing countries, the world food availability and China's food import demand are still optimistic. The simulation results indicate that China's import of pork products, in light of COVID-19 and the implementation of SUETA, would most likely see a sizable climb in quantity, but a lesser climb in terms of value.Originality/valueAgricultural trade in China has been a focal-point of attention in recent years, with new challenges slowing exports and increasing dependence on imports for food security. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic adds significant uncertainty to agricultural trade, giving rise to serious concerns regarding its potential impact. By exploring the impact of the unprecedented pandemic on China's agricultural trade, this study should contribute to a better understanding of the still-evolving pandemic and shed light on pertinent policy implications.

Shipping the good agricultural products out: the differentiated impact of per-unit duties on developing countries

Abstract We investigate the impact of per-unit duties (i.e. tariffs expressed in US dollars per unit of imported product) on world agricultural trade patterns. Using detailed data on trade and tariffs, we show first that they induce higher export unit values, confirming that the Alchian–Allen conjecture can be extended to per-unit duties. Second, we show that this effect is higher for developed countries, which can be explained by their specialization on high-priced products. Third, we find that the restrictive effect of per-unit duties on trade is higher for developing countries.

Food security of the Republic of Belarus: achievements and prospects

The role and importance is growing fast in the world for international trade, technology transfer, interstate financial cooperation, cooperative and integration, interdisciplinary, regional and international cooperation, including the one in agriculture and food security fields. At the same time, the cases of food insecurity due to situation changes in foreign markets for agricultural raw materials and prepared food are becoming frequent. Access to food becomes a lever of foreign policy influence, and the weight of food expenditures in the structure of consumer spending takes a decisive role in ensuring food security. In this regard, the problem of hunger and malnutrition is still relevant in many regions due lack or deficiency of population income. The paper presents a comprehensive research of modern aspects for ensuring food security at global and national levels, including the current state of agricultural production and its development prospects, international assessment of food security level in countries and regions of the world, global trends in world agricultural trade of raw materials and prepared food, assessment of physical and economic affordability of foodstuff, nutrition level, welfare and public health. The results of assessing the environmental sustainability of agricultural production are presented. The level of public awareness in the field of food security is analyzed. It was determined that in general, there are prospects for Belarus for more efficient food security gaining due to qualitative parameters, for instance, increasing efficiency of resource potential, growth of consumer purchasing power, expansion of domestic market by increasing the proportion of safe functional nutrition for specific population categories according to occupation, age, health status, etc.

India's agricultural trade relationship with SAARC countries

India ’agricultural trade with SAARC member countries was not very impressive as a percentage of its world agricultural trade. The agricultural exports from India to other SAARC countries increased from $1553.61 million in 2005–06 to $5475.26 million in 2014–15. A similar increase occurred in agricultural imports of India from $634.74 million to $1266.88 million. India's agricultural exports to other SAARC countries were higher as compared to imports, thus the balance of trade was favourable to India except for Afghanistan (2006–15) and Bhutan (2007 and 2008). The compound growth rate of agricultural exports of India with SAARC as a whole came out to be 14.26 per cent per annum at current prices and 7.84 per cent at constant prices which indicated a tremendous increase in agricultural exports to these countries after SAFTA agreement. The agricultural growth in imports at constant prices was negative and non-significant for all SAARC member countries with India except for Afghanistan and Bangladesh which were the major importing countries with respect to agricultural trade. After SAFTA agreement in 2006, no doubt, trade increased in the SAARC region, but lack of proper implementation was observed among SAARC countries. The study suggested that as India's total agricultural trade multiplied more than three-times after the formation of SAFTA in the region, it should play a key role in the implementation of SAFTA.

The state’s position in international agricultural commodity trade

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply an analysis of complex networks to empirically research international agricultural commodity trade and countries’ trading relations. The structure of global agricultural commodity trade is quantitatively described and analysed. Design/methodology/approach Based on statistical physics and graph theory, the research paradigm of a complex network, which has sprung up in the last decade, provides us with new global perspective to discuss the topic of international trade, especially agricultural commodity trade. In this paper, the authors engage in the issue of countries’ positions in international agricultural commodity trade using the latest complex network theories. The authors at first time introduce the improved bootstrap percolation to simulate cascading influences following the breaking down of bilateral agricultural commodity trade relations. Findings On a mid-level structure, countries are classified into three communities that reflect the structure of the “core/periphery” using the weighted extremal optimisation algorithm and the coarse graining process. On a micro-level, countries’ rankings are provided with the aid of network’s node centralities, which presents world agricultural commodity trade as a closed, imbalanced, diversified and multi-polar development. Originality/value The authors at first time introduce the improved bootstrap percolation to simulate cascading influences following the breaking down of bilateral agricultural commodity trade relations.

Brazil and China: the agribusiness connection in the Southern Cone context

This article explores the ways in which the Brazil–China axis is reshaping patterns of trade and investment in soy and related commodities. On the Brazilian side, we are particularly interested in the characteristics and dynamics of the models of investment and farming on the soy frontier. China′s extensive interests in Brazilian soy provide a privileged perspective to analyse the different ways in which it is trying to reshape the dynamics of global agricultural commodity trading. We also incorporate insights from China′s involvement in other Southern Cone countries, particularly Argentina. We explore the hypothesis that the scale of China′s food and raw material demands even at low levels of import dependence have led it to adopt ‘more-than-market’ strategies of control which raise important questions for existing patterns of world agricultural trade.

India and WTO: Trade Performance

This paper makes an attempt to examine the performance of Indian agricultural trade in World Trade Organization regime with regards to the selected parameters, i.e. export growth rate and standardization in agriculture growth rate. It is found that under the WTO regime India share in world agricultural trade increased. The standardization of trade growth initially improved then from last few year's its dramatically fluctuating and deteriorated. In AoA regime the share of some important crop composition and trade reduced. In WTO regime, as a whole there is deterioration in agricultural trade.

Comparison of Agricultural Trade in Selected Groups of Countries - Comparison of Real Results

The world trade is a dynamically changing in the long term horizon, its total value as well as share in the global economy are continuously growing. Despite the growth in agricultural trade, the gaps among various groups of countries and regions are becoming deeper. More and more countries loose its self-sufficiency or its netto export status and become dependent on imports. On the other hand, there exists another limited group of countries controlling most of the world exports. The aim of the article is to identify differences in changing values of agricultural trade among selected groups of countries. An accent is given primarily on an identification of differences relating to the real value of trading streams. These differences are defined not only in relation to the absolute value, but also to values recalculated per capita, active farmer or agricultural respective arable land. The results indicate extreme differences between developed and developing countries, just in favour of developed countries, which control an important share of the world agricultural trade. There is worth noting that despite the fact that developed countries affect essentially the character of the world agricultural market, there exist huge differences among them. They can be illustrated on the EU-15 and EU-13 countries. The differences relate not only to the value of agricultural trade but they can be observed when analysing the trade dynamics and productivity in relation to the production factors labour and land.

Estimation of potential water requirements using water footprint for the target of food self-sufficiency in South Korea

South Korea’s food self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) dramatically decreased from 56 % in 1980 to 27 % in 2010, due to changes in food production and consumption patterns. Naturally, the changes in food self-sufficiency and consumption patterns will affect the world agricultural trade. This study aims to analyze trends in water footprints (WFs) on the basis of statistics for per capita food consumption in the last 25 years. The WFs for potential water requirements (WFsPWR) were estimated using food production and consumption scenarios for the targets of the SSRs in 2015 and 2020. The WFs for per capita food consumption (WFscap) were estimated at 512.9 m3 (1985) and 822.9 m3 (2010). Cereals and meats accounted for 36.3 and 21.5 % of the total WFscap in 1985, and 18.3 and 38.6 % in 2010, respectively. This implies that with economic development, Korea’s dietary patterns have changed from cereal to meat-oriented. To achieve the targets of 52 % (2015) and 55 % (2020) food SSR based on calories, additional WFsPWR are estimated to be 1255.5 Mm3 (2015) and 1923.9 Mm3 (2020). Results of this study are expected to be a useful basis for making long-term policies for sustainable agricultural production and water management from technical and social perspectives.

THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF POLISH AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTS ON THE NAFTA MARKET UNDER THE TRADE-LIBERALIZATION PROCESS

Accession to the European Union as well as the ongoing process of liberalization of global agricultural trade changed the conditions for agri-food trade between Poland and NAFTA countries. The study is an attempt to define the significance of NAFTA countries in the Polish agri-food trade, to assess the competitive position of selected Polish agri-food products on this market in years 2004-2012 and to predict its level for the year 2020, assuming two simulation scenarios: the lack of liberalization (I) and liberalization of world agricultural trade (II). A deliberately selected set of ex post indicators of competitive position as well as agricultural sector equilibrium model CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regionalised Impact) were used in the paper. The analysis showed that among non-EU countries this trade bloc is one of the most important trade partners for Poland. On this foreign market mainly Polish animal products and fruits and vegetables were competitive. The results of model simulations conducted for different groups of agri-food products showed that by 2020 a favourable competitive position on the NAFTA market might be expected in meat and meat products as well as in milk and dairy products.

Trends in World Agricultural and Food Trade

International commerce in agricultural and food products is an important component of food security and, for many developing countries, an essential part of their economic development. Agricultural products (which may be food or non-food) are imported or exported by most countries. Certain views equate food security with self-sufficiency, and thus regard importation of food as a mark of food insecurity at the national level, but the internationally accepted definition of food security does not share those views. Food security is nowadays defined as a situation in which all people at all times have access to adequate food; the food that is to be accessed may be produced domestically or imported. Thus exporting and importing food (and other agricultural products) is nowadays considered as a key element in achieving food security.This paper reviews tendencies in the amount and content of agricultural and food trade since the early 1960s, at the world scale and for major world regions, using a metric of world-average unit values based on 2004-2006. It finds that during the past half century, whilst agricultural production trebled, agricultural trade increased by a factor of eight. At region level, only the Americas (North and Latin America) are net exporters of agricultural and food products, whereas the other major regions (Europe, Asia and Africa) are net importers. It also finds that recent surges in agricultural and food commodity prices (2007-08 and 2010-11) have not disrupted the physical amounts traded, as initially feared.A Methodological Appendix at the end of the pa­per provides detailed information on sources and methods. Supplementary Information available online includes an Excel file containing estimates of reference world-average unit values for over 350 traded items for the ba­se period 2004-2006. Results are mainly based on the detailed country-level time series on agricultural and food trade annual flows for the period 1961-2011, contained in FAOSTAT, the FAO statistical information system on food and agriculture.

El modelo de seguridad alimentaria de la Unión Europea y su dimensión exterior

The European Union is the third human group in the planet, the first world food importer and the second food exporter. It is a global actor in food security, whose policies affect world agricultural trade and, consequently, food security policies of every State in the world, especially those dependent on imports for food supplies. In this paper we examine the EU food security model, established by the CAP, and its international aspects, food trade relations and development cooperation. This is important for the Maghreb countries, as European internal policies have an impact on international food availability and international market prizes. EU policies are a referent for its neighbouring countries because of close trade policies and cooperation ties.

Introduction to the Special Feature: Will the BRIC Decade Continue? The Role of Rural Areas and Agriculture

AbstractThis article provides an introduction to the special feature on agriculture‐related issues in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) contained in this issue of Journal of Agricultural Economics. The special feature is motivated by the increased interest which these countries have received since the turn of the millennium and by the significance of agriculture in their development. It considers economic and social development in BRICs, their integration in world agricultural trade as well as environmental concerns. This article presents key figures on economic, social and agricultural features in BRICs and compares them across countries. A synthesis of the articles included in the special feature is provided by highlighting the selection of topics likely to be crucial for further development across BRICs.