Canadian Agricultural Programs and Policy in Transition

Canada does not have an agricultural policy, rather it has agricultural programs. The history of price and income stabilization programs is discussed along with supply management. Programs for the grains and oilseeds sectors have witnessed major changes while supply management has not. Canadian agricultural policy falls under the responsibility of both federal and provincial governments. As a result, farmers in Alberta, for example, receive far greater assistance than farmers in Saskatchewan. Under the new Canadian farm program (CAIS) large payments have been made to Canadian farmers even though many of the farmers who applied for CAIS payments received none. Le Canada ne possède pas de politique agricole, mais plutôt des programmes agricoles. Le présent article porte sur l'histoire du programme de stabilisation du revenu, du programme de stabilisation des prix et de la gestion de l'offre. Contrairement à la gestion de l'offre, les programmes destinés aux secteurs des céréales et des oléagineux ont subi des modifications importantes. La politique agricole canadienne relève des gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux. Par conséquent, les agriculteurs de l'Alberta, par exemple, reçoivent une aide supérieure à celle accordée aux agriculteurs de la Saskatchewan. Dans le cadre du nouveau Programme canadien de stabilisation du revenu agricole (PCSRA), certains producteurs ont reçu des paiements importants alors que de nombreux autres producteurs ayant fait une demande n'ont rien reçu.     

The Impact of Regulations on Agricultural Trade: Evidence from the SPS and TBT Agreements

According to World Trade Organization rules, countries may adopt regulations under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). We analyze the structure of these measures in agricultural trade. The inventory approach suggests that European countries have among the lowest coverage ratios of all OECD countries. Using a gravity equation, we also estimate their stringency. Our results suggest that they significantly reduce developing countries' exports to OECD countries, but do not affect trade between OECD members. Furthermore, European imports are more negatively influenced by SPS and TBTs than imports of other OECD countries.     

Noneconomic Distortions in International Agricultural Trade:

A U.S. import demand model for palm oil empirically addresses the objectives of ascertaining whether significant shifts in U.S. import patterns for palm oil followed an American Soybean Association negative informational campaign against "fatty" tropical oils and whether factors such as exchange rates significantly affected the decline of U.S. palm oil imports after the campaign. Evidence suggests that structural change in U.S. import demand for palm oil followed commencement of the campaign, including significant changes in the own- and cross-price responsiveness of palm oil. Results also indicate that exchange rates did not contribute to declining U.S. palm oil imports.     

Link between Agricultural Assistance and International Trade

This paper investigates a central part of the argument that agricultural assistance by the United States to developing nations leads to diminished export markets for U.S. farmers. A sizeable cross section of low-income and lower-middle-income nations is used to provide statistical analyses of: (1) the link between agricultural productivity and economic performance, and (2) the link between economic performance and agricultural imports. The results show that a reasonably strong case can be made for the idea that advances in agricultural productivity are associated with long-run increases in imports of cereals and other agricultural products by less wealthy nations. The connection comes via the positive income effect of general economic development. For these countries, investments in agricultural development through successful assistance are not detrimental to U.S. farm export interests in the long run. They are generally beneficial. For middle-income nations, the case is less clear and more controversial. However, nothing in the cross-section data used suggests that farm productivity improvements in these nations is systematically threatening to U.S. agricultural trade in the long run.     

中国农产品贸易：最近20年的变化

中国经济正在不断地走向国际化 ,并在国际经济中扮演越来越重要的角色 ;中国农业贸易也列身于这种成长演变之中 ,并且已经成为世界农产品贸易大国。中国农产品生产、贸易和消费的状况对世界农产品贸易格局和市场状况有着重要的影响。本文主要利用最近 2 0年的中国农产品贸易数据来分析中国农产品贸易 ① 的变化 ,以期反映中国农产品贸易演变的主要结果 ,从而有助于判断中国农产品贸易的发展趋向。汇率、关税、补贴等与农产品贸易相关的政策、体制以及贸易组织方面的变化也应当是农产品贸易变化的重要组成部分 ,但限于本文的目标和范围 ,这里…     

中美农产品贸易增长特征及其成因探析

本文通过CMS恒定市场份额分析模型分析了中美1992—2003年农产品贸易增长情况及其成因,结果表明两国旺盛的市场需求共同推动了农产品贸易的增长,同时,中国对美出口农产品以竞争力提升贡献最大,而从美国进口农产品快速增加主要原因是美国农产品出口结构转换能力较强,其出口结构适应了我国近年来产品需求结构变化。本文还提出了扩大对美农产品出口应采取继续提升竞争力并有效推动结构转移的发展策略。     

贸易开放对我国工农产品贸易条件及农民福利的影响

本研究利用1978-2005年的数据，对工农产品价格比及其演变趋势进行了考察，并实证分析了贸易开放与工农产品相对价格之间的关系。研究结果表明，改革开放以来，我国农产品相对价格即农产品相对于工业产品的贸易条件并没有走低趋势，同时，贸易的全面开放对农产品相对价格的提升有着正面的影响，因此，从国内工农产品贸易条件的角度分析，全面的贸易开放事实上对农产品生产者的相对购买力提高和福利增加有正向作用。     

Bilateral Import Protection,Free Trade Agreements,and Other Factors Influencing Trade Flows in Agriculture and Clothing

Many factors shape the global network of bilateral trade including fundamental forces of supply and demand factors and government policies. This study uses the generalised gravity framework to distinguish among the different drivers that either deter or aid partner trade in land‐intensive agriculture and labour‐intensive clothing. The dataset used in the analysis includes bilateral trade among 70 countries in 1995, 2000 and 2005. Collectively, the 70 countries account for 85% of the world’s trade in agriculture and 96% of its GDP. Empirical results lend support to the Heckscher–Ohlin explanation of trade, namely that relative factor endowments motivate cross‐border trade. Results also show that tariffs are not always binding and bilateral free‐trade agreements more often divert rather than create trade.     

中国大豆国际贸易与国内市场价格关系的实证分析

本文运用共聚合法对中国大豆国际贸易与国内大豆市场价格的关系进行了实证分析。分析结果表明,中国大豆进口和出口与国内大豆市场价格关系整合,而且进口与国内市场价格原有的均衡关系在1996年后被打破,进入了一个新的阶段。根据上述结论的启示,本文提出了促进中国大豆产业发展的政策建议。     

中泰农产品协议对农产品贸易的影响分析

产品贸易协议的签署是贸易逐步自由化的一大体现，中国与泰国蔬菜和水果零关税协议正是中国一东盟自由贸易区(CAFTA)进程加快的先期成果之一。该协议不仅会为中国北方生产的水果带来一定的市场，更能为泰国的热带农产品开拓海外市场(包括中国市场以及其他国家市场)做出贡献。而且从长远来看，中泰农产品协议必将带来中国与东盟、乃至整个世界更大的合作与发展，并会把世界区域经济一体化的潮流不断推向前进。     

我国农产品国际贸易研究方面的问题及建议

我国加入WTO已有一年的时间，从这段时期农产品国际贸易领域野出现的现象与问题出发，本文对比此前国内学者专家的预测分析，提出了关于农产品贸易研究方面加强的几个方面：（1）细分市场；（2）市场方面判定农产品竞争力；（3）用动态的观点和方式进行研究。     

内生比较优势与我国农产品对外贸易研究

本文分析了加入WTO后我国农业面临的现状及其主要原因,并结合专业化分工与内生比较优势理论,提出了我国农产品贸易内生比较优势的培育策略,即通过合理有效的政策与制度安排,形成区域化布局和分工网络,降低内生交易费用,提高交易效率,培育和改善农产品的内生比较优势,提高农产品竞争力。     

The Potential for Cross‐Compliance in Canadian Agricultural Policy: Linking Environmental Goals with Business Risk Management Programs

Environmental cross‐compliance links agricultural program payments to producer commitments to achieve agri‐environmental policy goals. The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of using cross‐compliance to achieve environmental goals in a Canadian policy context. While Canadian policy makers have flirted with cross‐compliance, with the exception of phosphorus regulations for Quebec hog farms, they have never adopted this approach. The potential for effective cross‐compliance depends on producer participation, producer compliance with regulations, environmental performance, and overall welfare implications. This study reviews the application of cross‐compliance in the United States and EU with regard to the potential application to Canadian agriculture. Policy options are considered which link current business risk management (BRM) programs to alternative environmental regulations (wildlife habitat preservation, nutrient management plans, and beneficial management practices for nutrient management). In general, individual Canadian agricultural support program do not provide sufficient incentives for farmers to participate in cross‐compliance. However, if support programs are combined, it is better to link programs that redistribute income with environmental programs than to link agriculture programs that already address specific market failures.