Towards Free Trade in AgricultureAgriculture seems to be a difficult sector to manage for most governments. Developing countries face tough dilemmas in deciding on appropriate price poli eies to stimulate food production and maintain stable, preferably low, prices for poor consumers. Governments in developed countries face similar difficult deci sions. They are called upon to give income guarantees to farmers whose incomes are unstable and relatively low when compared to those in the nonagricultural sector. These guarantees often lead to ever-increasing budgetary outlays and unwanted agricultural surpluses. High prices make new investments and the application of new technologies more attractive than world prices warrant, and a process is set in motion where technological innovation attains amomenturn of its own, in turn requiring price policies that maintain their rates of return. Surpluses are disposed of with subsidies in domestic markets or in the international market. Price competition reduces the market share of other exporters, who may be efficient producers, unless they are willing to engage in subsidy competition. This lowers export earnings and farm incomes or depletes the public resources of developing countries that export competing products. Retaliatory measures have led to frictions and further distortions of world prices. Every so orten the major agricultural exporters - the USA, the EC, Aus tralia, or Canada - accuse one another of unfair intervention. Though they have agreed to discuss agricultural trade liberalization under GATT negotiations, if anything, the expenditure on farm support has continued to increase in both the EC and the USA. |
Contents
Preface | 1 |
The Analytical Approach | 27 |
Reducing Trade Distortions in OECD Countries 888 | 87 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
Towards Free Trade in Agriculture Kirit S. Parikh,Günther Fischer,Klaus Frohberg,Odd Gulbrandsen Limited preview - 2013 |
Towards Free Trade in Agriculture Kirit S. Parikh,Günther Fischer,Klaus Frohberg,Odd Gulbrandsen No preview available - 2013 |
Towards Free Trade in Agriculture Kirit S. Parikh,Gunther Fischer,Klaus Frohberg No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
aggregate agricul agricultural commodities agricultural GDP Agricultural labor agricultural prices agricultural products agricultural trade liberalization animal products Argentina Australia Austria autarky bovine and ovine Brazil calorie Canada China CMEA coarse grains consumers country-specific dairy products decline demand developing countries distortions domestic prices Egypt equilibrium equivalent income factors Food price index free trade gains global HCons at P70 Human consumption impact imports income parity income/calorie exporters India indicators Indonesia investment Japan Kenya LDCs loss market economies liberalize Mexico NAC NAC Nigeria nonfood agriculture OECD countries OECD trade liberalization output ovine meat PA/PN Pakistan Percentage changes price changes price increases price of agriculture producer prices protection levels protection rates Protein feed reduced reference run reference scenario relative price rice self-sufficiency shows Table tariff equivalent terms of trade Thailand tion trade deficit 70 trade liberalization scenarios Turkey welfare world market prices world prices Zealand