The Palm Oil Import Demand in Middle East and North African (MENA) Countries

Abstract

The palm oil import demand in selected Middle East and North African (MENA) countries, represented by 10 single equation models, have been analysed through utilizing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique. The findings of the study show that the palm oil prices as well as the national income are significant determinants of palm oil demand across the 10 models. The prices of substitute oils in almost all countries have been found to play an important role in shaping the palm oil demand. Other factors such as high palm oil discount, the 1970s world petroleum prices boom, the anti-palm oil campaign, trade embargos on Libya and Iraq, and exchange rate also proved to be important factors affecting import demand for palm oil in some MENA countries.     

中国大豆进口需求分析

本文利用差异化的进口需求模型对中国大豆进口需求进行了研究。研究结果表明,中国对从主要大豆进口国进口来源的大豆数量都是有弹性的,且对美国、巴西、阿根廷等国大豆出口价格的变化很敏感;而且,在其他条件不变的情况下,当中国的大豆需求增加以后,美国大豆出口的增加幅度最大,受益最大的可能是美国;其后是阿根廷,巴西。中国自产大豆在国内消费数量中增加幅度最小,这对中国国内大豆生产者来说是一个警示信号,即中国加工企业对国产大豆的偏好弱,国内大豆需求增长主要通过进口来满足。     

Import and Retail Demand for Orange Juice in Canada

A six-equation structural model of the retail and import level demand for orange juice in Canada is estimated. Relative prices of Brazilian and U.S. imports are found to he important determinants of the quantity imported to Canada, and the Canadian market share for the U. S. and Brazil. Retail demand for orange juice in Canada is estimated to he price inelastic. The import level demand for U. S. product is estimated to he price inelastic while the import level demand for Brazilian product is estimated to he highly elastic. The final form of the model is used to simulate competitive price situations in the Canadian market.
On a fail un modèle eslimatif en six équations de la demande d'imponation el de vente au détail pour le jus d'orange au Canada. On a trouvé que les prix relatifs des importations brésiliennes et américaines jouent un rôle déterminant dans la quantilé d'importations sur le marché canadien et dans les titres floltants canadiens pour les Etats Unis et le Brésil. On estime que la demande, au niveau des détaillanls, pour le jus d'orange au Canada représente un prix fixe. On estime que la demande d'importations en produils brésiliens est des plus élastiques. On emploie la forme finale du modèle pour simuler les prix concurrents sur le marché canadien.     

An Econometric Import Demand and Market Analysis:

No abstract available for this article.     

Estimating the U.S. Import Demand for Melons: A Dynamic Analysis Approach

The United States is one of the world's leading consumers as well as one of the world's leading producers of melons. However, U.S. melons are produced only from May through December. In order to supplement the domestic demand and make melons available year-round, the United States imports melons from Latin American countries. This article analyzes the U.S. demand for imported fresh and frozen melons using monthly data on import volumes and values. A static and a dynamic linear Almost Ideal Demand System are estimated using Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR). The estimated parameters are used to estimate the short- and long-run price and expenditure elasticities.     

Food Import Demand in the Czech Republic

This paper provides an overview of Czech food import demand in the transition period of the 1990s. It provides econometric estimates of own‐ and cross‐price elasticities as well as group expenditure elasticities of Czech import demand for sixteen lower level and four upper level food groups. Based on the Hausman test for endogeneity, which supported the hypothesis that Czech import prices were exogenously determined outside of the Czech economy, we estimated five demand models as direct‐demand systems of the AIDS type. The econometric estimation of elasticities used bimonthly data from March 1993 to August 1997.     

A Varying Coefficient Approach to Global Flexibility in Demand Analysis: A Semiparametric Approximation

To reduce dimensionality issues, this article derives a globally flexible demand system that can be estimated non-parametrically with a specially devised temporal kernel. Statistical and economic results from a meat demand application underscores the usefulness of a temporal kernel in globally approximating an integrable demand system.     

Product Differentiation and Representative Agent Import Demand Systems: A Reconsideration and Reconciliation

Product differentiation is the fundamental assumption employed to supposedly generate the import demand systems found in the literature. This paper shows that the assumption of product differentiation does not generate the import demand systems found in the literature, unless two additional assumptions are made. A procedure is demonstrated for testing these assumptions. By showing and exploiting the formal relationship between the "old" theory of demand and the "new" (Lancaster) theory of demand, the results are applicable to any demand system.
La différentiation des produits est l'hypotèse fondamentale qui sous-tendrait les nombreux systèmes de demande à l'importation qu'on retrouve dans la bibliographie économétrique des vingt dernières années. Or dans le présent article, il est démontré que cette hypothèse n'est vraiment valable que si on la complète de deux suppositions auxiliaires. Une démarche est proposée pour tester ces deux propositions. En dégageant et en exploitant le rapport formel qui existe entre l'«ancienne>> théorie et la «nouvelle>> théorie (Lancaster) de la demande, on montre que les résultats peuvent s'appliquer à n'importe quel système de demande.     

Demand for Crop Insurance in Developing Countries: New Evidence from India

Determining farmers’ real demand for crop insurance is difficult, especially in developing countries, where there is a lack of formal financial sector integration and a high reliance on informal risk mitigation options. We provide some new estimates of farmers’ willingness‐to‐pay for insurance in the context of a large‐scale subsidised programme in India. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with agricultural households across four states in India, enabling us to estimate preferences for specific insurance policy attributes such as coverage period, method of loss assessment, timing of indemnity payments and the cost of insurance. Our results suggest that farmers do value crop insurance under certain conditions and some are willing to pay a premium for such coverage in excess of the subsidised rates they are currently required to pay under this programme. In particular, farmers value the assurances that they will receive timely payouts when they incur losses, and may not have a strong preference for the method with which losses are assessed. On the other hand, farmers are quite sensitive to coverage periods. Our baseline assessment shows that when optimised to farmer requirements, there can be a sizeable demand for crop insurance by developing country farmers.     

Market Integration in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Selected Vegetables in Indonesian Markets

Abstract

Market integration has retained and increased in importance in the recent years, particularly in developing countries, where it has potential application to policy questions regarding government intervention in markets. Specifically, it provides evidence of competitiveness of the market, effectiveness of arbitrage and efficiency of pricing. In this study, selected vegetables in Indonesian markets are used as a case study. Indonesia, consisting of 17,000 islands and 182 million people, provides an interesting case study because of the importance of vegetable production and marketing in the rapidly growing economy. The results suggest that none of the markets are segmented. Short- and long-run market integration tests suggest that transportation and product perishability are important in explaining the speed of price transmission. Another important result is that market integration is directional.     

U.S. Citrus Import Demand: Seasonality and Substitution

Citrus fruits make up 1/5 of all fresh fruit consumed in the United States. Given the increasing importance of imported citrus in the diet of American consumers, it is perhaps surprising that no import demand analysis of U.S. citrus has been conducted. Using quarterly U.S. import data for 6 citrus commodities, we employed a demand systems model and evaluated aspects of seasonality. The results suggest wide variations in price responses to different types of imported citrus. The average amplitude and phase shift suggest that all citrus fruits exhibit some seasonality in their imports, likely a result of peak harvesting schedules of exporters.     

日本生鲜蔬菜进口市场及其需求弹性分析

本文运用LA/AIDS模型,估算日本生鲜蔬菜进口市场的需求弹性,探讨中国生鲜蔬菜在日本市场上的贸易地位和竞争策略。结果表明,在日本蔬菜进口市场上,中国生鲜蔬菜对日本进口总支出缺乏弹性,自价格弹性由缺乏弹性逐渐变为富有弹性,与韩国和美国蔬菜呈互补关系,与墨西哥、新西兰及其他国家和地区蔬菜呈替代关系,各地区出口量对中国出口价格变化的反应比中国生鲜蔬菜出口量对相对价格变化的反应更敏感。中国大幅度降价确实推动了出口量的增加,但并不是今后发展的最优策略,质量与安全水平的提升是维持或提高市场份额的根本途径。     

An Econometric Analysis of Total (Domestic) and Import Demand for Beef in Hong Kong

This paper presents an applied econometric analysis of total (domestic and import) demand for beef in Hong Kong for the period 1970 to 1988. The estimates are in logarithmic form and provide elasticity estimates for beef demand (domestic and import) in Hong Kong. Variables in the estimated domestic demand models (per capita and aggregate) include own price, prices of a substitute (pork) and a complement (rice) and income. Variables in the estimated import demand model include demand side variables (price of beef, price of pork, price of rice and income) and the price of imported live cattle as a supply shifting variable. The elasticities were inelastic for the domestic demand models while most of those for the import demand model were elastic.     

中国棉花生产成本分析及国际比较

通过对我国近20余年棉花生产的成本效益、成本构成及与主要产棉国生产成本的比较分析,揭示我国棉花生产成本的特点,寻求进一步降低我国棉花生产成本的途径.     

中国棉花生产成本分析及国际比较

通过对我国近20余年棉花生产的成本效益、成本构成及与主要产棉国生产成本的比较分析，揭示我国棉花生产成本的特点，寻求进一步降低我国棉花生产成本的途径。     

国外猪肉质量保障体系及其对我国的启示

文章在简述瑞典、德国、美国等猪肉生产先进国家在保障猪肉质量方面的一些做法和经验的基础上，总结出了有利于改善我国猪肉质量的重要启示，并提出了相应建议。