Tag: agricultural trade

Deepening and expanding agricultural trade patterns require institutional and infrastructural investments that have to compete with other country and regional priorities such as expenditure on poverty alleviation and adaptation to, and mitigation of, the effects of climate change. As a result, arguments for expenditure on trade facilitation and on trade infrastructure need to be evidence-based. In this article we provide an overview of the wide range of challenges facing the Southern African region, then present two case studies that illustrate the benefits of investment in trade infrastructure. A reduction of 25% in the cost of regional trade in maize benefits producers and consumers, while reducing the cost of exporting citrus from South Africa leads to a 4.1% annual gain in revenue to producers.

The European Union (EU) is committed to decarbonising its economy by 2050. To that end, significant reductions in greenhouse gases from the energy and agricultural sectors are of critical importance. However, while the EU member states each pursue a different climate strategy, all member states’ emissions are regulated by EU climate law. This paper investigates the factors explaining carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the 27 member countries, using fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and quantile regression models. Before estimations, panel unit root and cointegration tests have been used for the period 1990-2018. The applied model examines the impact of economic growth, energy intensity, renewable energy consumption and agricultural trade on carbon dioxide emissions. Estimates have shown that the intensification of energy stimulates carbon emissions. Economic growth indicates an increase in carbon emissions. The results reveal that agricultural trade decreases carbon dioxide emissions in the EU, highlighting that intra EU trade is more environmentally friendly. Finally, the impact of renewable energy is limited to contributing to climate mitigation goals by reducing emissions.