Specialization and Foreign Trade in Agriculture Sector: A Study on the MINT Countries

Abstract

Agriculture, by guaranteeing the production of basic foodstuffs, contributes to the economic development process by creating employment opportunities for the majority of the population, providing labor, intermediate goods and markets to the industrial sector, gaining foreign exchange for the economy and widening the domestic market. Agriculture sector is one of the key sectors of MINT economies. It plays an important role in MINT’s foreign trade and economic development. In the last 15 years, the export of agricultural food products has grown more than 3 times. Today, MINT countries are major producer and exporter of many agricultural food products. In this study examined the comparative advantage and specialization level of agricultural products of MINT economies. In the study the Balassa index and the Lafay index are being used. Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding system is used in this study. In the study used International Trade Centre statistical data for the period 2002-2015. Results show that Indonesia has the greatest comparative advantage in animal, vegetable fats and oils while Mexico in fresh vegetables and Nigeria have a comparative advantage cocoa and cocoa preparation. Turkey has the greatest comparative advantage in milling products and fresh fruits.

Keywords

• comparative advantage
• mint countries
• agricultural commodities
• specialization