Productivity, export competitiveness and the changing structure of trade in spices and plantation crops: An exploratory analysis

Authors

  • Lijo Thomas ICAR Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode-673 012, Kerala, India
  • P.C. Sanil ICAR Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode-673 012, Kerala, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25081/jpc.2021.v49.i3.7453

Abstract

Enhancing trade competitiveness is viewed as one of the desired objectives of agricultural policy. It is also a widely held notion that enhancing productivity will result in commensurate improvement in competitiveness in global trade. This paper explores the relationship between productivity growth and export competitiveness (measured by revealed comparative advantage) in selected crop commodities in the spices and plantation crop sector. Secondary data on productivity and exports of selected crop commodities across spices and plantation crops for the last three decades is used to study the relationship. We find no evidence to imply that productivity growth will ensure better export competitiveness in these crops. The increasing competition for export markets among producing countries and increasing trade between producing countries adversely affect export competitiveness. The inter-trade among producing countries for spices is used to illustrate this point. The Grubel-Lloyd index is used to highlight the increasing intra-industry trade and the consequent change in the trade structure of these commodities from an Indian perspective. The study finds that a narrow focus on productivity gains at the country level will not enhance competitiveness in an increasingly open global trade scenario. The study outlines possible elements of complementary strategies (value addition, farmer collectivization, international cooperation) for enhancing the prospects of these commodities in the agricultural trade basket.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Balassa, B. 1965. Trade liberalization and revealed comparative advantage. Manchester School of Economics and Social Studies 33(2): 99-124.

Chand, R., Raju, S. S. and Pandey, L. M. 2008. Progress and potential of horticulture in India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics 63(3): 299-309.

Cracau, D. and Duran Lima, J.E. 2016. On the normalized Hirschman-Herfindahl Index: A technical note. International Journal of Food System Dynamics 7(4): 382-386.

Food and Agriculture Organization. 2020. FAOSTAT statistical database.,http://faostat.fao.org.

Ghosh, J. 2005. Trade liberalization in agriculture: An examination of impact and policy strategies with special reference to India. Occasional paper 12/2005. Human Development Report Office, New York.

Government of India 2011. Census of India, Report on post enumeration survey. Office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner available at https:// censusindia.gov.in /2011Census/pes/Pesreport.pdf.

Government of India 2019. Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2019. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.

Government of India 2020 Annual Report 2019-20. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, New Delhi.

Government of India. 2020. Economic Survey 2019-20, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi.

Grubel, Herbert G., and Lloyd, Peter J. 1971. The empirical measurement of intra-industry trade. Economic Record 47(4): 494-517.

Harilal, K. N., and Dhanya, V. 2015. “The WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Tropical Commodities: A Study in the Context of South India,” Review of Agrarian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1, available at http://ras.org.in/the WTO agreement on agriculture and tropical commodities, viewed on June 5.

IBEF 2020. Coffee Industry and Exports, June 2020. India Brand Equity Foundation. Available at https:// www.ibef.org/exports/coffee-industry-in-india.aspx.

Joseph, K. J., and George, P.S. 2010. Structural infirmities in India’s plantation sector: Natural rubber and spices, National Research Programme on Plantation Development Report, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

Kumar, S. and Sakshi, G. 2015. Crop Diversification towards High-value Crops in India: A State level empirical analysis. Agricultural Economics Research Review 28(2): 339-350.

Ministry of Commerce and Industry 2014. Frequently asked questions on Free Trade Agreements. Available at https:/ /commerce.gov.in/writereaddata/trade/FAQ_on_FTA_9 April2014.pdf.

Mohanakumar, S. 2012. Plantation crops under trade liberalization: Analysis in the context of Indo-ASEAN FTA, Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics 67(1): 139-156.

Nagoor, B. H. 2010. Trade aspect of plantation sector of India. NRPPD. Discussion Paper No.8. Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, 82p.

National Accounts Statistics 2018. Central Statistical Organization, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.

OECD 2014. Glossary of Statistical Terms. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Available at https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=399.

Page, S., and Hewitt, A. 2001. World commodity prices: Still a problem for developing countries? Overseas Development Institute, London. 54p.

Porter, M. E. 1990. The Competitive Advantage of Nations.

Harvard Business Review. March-April, 1990, 73-93.

Shinoj, P. and Mathur, V. C. 2008. Comparative advantage of India in agricultural exports vis-á-vis Asia: A post-reforms analysis. Agricultural Economics Research Review 21(1): 60-66.

Spices Board 2020. Review of export performance of Spices. http://www.indianspices.com/export/major-itemwise-export.html.

Suresh, A. and Mathur, V. C. 2016. Export of agricultural commodities from India: Performance and prospects. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 86(7): 876-883.

UN COMTRADE 2020. United Nations International Trade Statistics Database. https://comtrade.un.org/data/.

UNCTAD 2020. UNCTAD Stat, United nations Conference of Trade and Development, available at https:// unctadstat.unctad.org/EN/

Viswanathan, P.K., Shah, A. 2012. Gender impact of trade reforms in Indian Plantation sector: An exploratory analysis. Discussion paper, no. 17, National Research Programme on Plantation Development Report. Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum.

Published

30-12-2021

How to Cite

Thomas, L. ., & Sanil, P. . (2021). Productivity, export competitiveness and the changing structure of trade in spices and plantation crops: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Plantation Crops, 49(3), 191–199. https://doi.org/10.25081/jpc.2021.v49.i3.7453

Issue

Section

Research Articles