Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural exports

The COVID-19 outbreak has shocked the world’s economies in the year of 2020.As this pandemic spreads around the globe,many experts feared that the global food supplies might start running short,especially if supply chains were disrupted.COVID-19 also added to the uncertainty of the business operation.Therefore,it is critical to understand how COVID-19 pandemic affected global food supply and market.In this study,we investigate the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural export companies in China using a unique firm-level survey data.We found that although on average agricultural businesses experienced declines in the exports,exports of some agricultural products especially grain and oil held strong and even increased,implying the essential demand for staple food during the pandemic.Not surprisingly,exports of medicinal herb also increased significantly during the pandemic.However,exports of goods such as edible fungus and horticultural products sharply decreased.Our results also showed that in general,impact of COVID-19 on smaller firms was more severe than that on larger firms.The results of this study can provide useful guidance and implications for agricultural businesses and policy makers on their COVID-19 mitigation efforts to navigate this global pandemic.

Impacts of Import Refusals on Agricultural Exports duri ng Pan demies: Implicatio ns for China

Pandemic outbreaks disrupt agricultural trade.The possible strengthening of import barriers to products from countries at the epicenter of a pandemic by their trade partners could aggravate this situation.This paper examines the responses of the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA),import refusals,and subsequent trade impacts on the agricultural exports from the developing countries that were the epicenters of four pandemics in the past two decades.Using monthly data for the period 2002-2020,we find increased import refusals and amplified trade-impeding impacts on agricultural exports during pandemic outbreaks.Increased import refusals and the amplification of the trade-impeding effect of import refusals were especially large when China was the epicenter.We further examine possible differences in these results across products and FDA inspection methods,and the main conclusions remain robust.This paper offers a better understanding of the economic outcomes of pandemic outbreaks and provides policy suggestions for China.

Determinants of Chinese agricultural products restricted by sanitary and phytosanitary measures

Sanitary and phytosanitary(SPS)measures have become a major obstacle for China’s agriproducts exports after China’s accession to WTO in 2001.This paper’s main contribution is to use unique firm-level data based on random sampling from China’s main exporting areas to explore the reasons why Chinese enterprises are hindered by SPS measures from a quantitative approach.Empirical results show that the gap of SPS standards between China and importing countries is a key element;the big gap increase greatly the cost of compliance of China’s export firms and drive some of them out of importing markets.Poor quality and safety of China’s agricultural products explain some firms’failure in importing markets,and to improve the safety and quality will promote the market entrance.Early information and preparation for foreign SPS measures are also crucial determinants to avoid the negative influence of SPS.However,firm scale and membership in industry associations have no significant effects on whether the companies are affected by foreign SPS measures or not.