Agricultural Import Demand in Low-Income, Middle-Income, and Centrally Planned Economies

This report provides summaries of the papers and discussions atthe third Consortium on Trade Research held in Washington, D.C.,June 23-24, 1981. The cochairmen of the consortium wereT. Kelley White, Economic Research Service (ERS), George E.Rossmiller, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and VernonSorenson, Michigan State University.The Consortium focused on world demand for agricultural importsand the policies and conditions in low-income, middle-income,and centrally planned countries that influence import demand.An overview paper by Dewain Rahe and Cheryl Christensen assessedfuture global prospects for agricultural trade. Peter Timmer'spaper investigated conceptual and empirical problems in analyzingimport demand. Three of the papers discussed the demandfor food and agricultural products in the Soviet Union andChina. Three additional papers focused on factors affectingimport demand in low- and middle-income countries. A final setof papers examined the role of bilateral agreements and stockholdingpolicies in agricultural trade.