Agri‐Food Export Competitiveness in European Union Countries

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates the competitiveness of agri‐food exports of the European Union ( EU ‐27) countries on global markets, using the revealed comparative advantage ( B ) index over the years 2000–11. Panel unit root tests, mobility index and the Kaplan‐Meier survival rates of the B index are used. The majority of agri‐food products in the EU ‐27 countries show a comparative disadvantage on global markets. The B indices of the EU ‐27 countries tend to convergence. Most of the old EU ‐15 Member States experienced a greater number of agri‐food products having a longer duration of revealed comparative advantages than have most of the new EU ‐12 Member States. Among the most successful Member States in agri‐food export competitiveness on global markets are the N etherlands, F rance and S pain.