Food Competition in World Markets: Some Evidence from a Panel Data Analysis of Top Exporting Countries

This paper investigates the relationships between export price and income elasticities, average unit values (AUVs) and market shares for the top world food exporters in the time period 1992-2011 using a panel data framework. Emerging countries and Spain show a high price elasticity unlike other advanced countries. Moreover, an inverse relationship between price elasticities and AUVs is found to exist. The overall analysis enables the conclusion that advanced countries can maintain a specialization in low-tech sectors only if high prices, as indicators of high quality, are accompanied by a rigid foreign demand and a satisfactory income elasticity of exports.