Investigating the impact of free trade on agricultural exports (Case study: wheat and pistachio)

Abstract

The growth of the agricultural sector as a platform to achieve development goals in developing countries is considered essential. Development economists in general and agricultural economists in particular emphasize that agriculture can contribute to economic growth. What is at stake today is to look at the capabilities of this sector in the face of globalization. It is clear that globalization is causing rapid growth in world trade and reducing the cost of information and communication. Given the importance of the agricultural sector in developing countries and the need for Iran to join the World Trade Organization and free trade, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of free trade on agricultural exports in Iran during the period 2011-2018 for both wheat and pistachio crops. In this study, the export function was investigated using the ARDL model. Eviews software was used to analyse the data. The results showed that free trade had no effect on domestic demand for wheat and pistachios. Since a product such as wheat is considered an imported product, the commercial clearing of this product means more imports of this product, and more imports do not have a significant effect on its domestic demand. In other words, the consumption of this product will not change with its commercial release.

Keywords

• free trade
• export of agricultural products
• ardl