Tea export competitiveness and the nexus between tea export and economic growth: The cases of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka

Tea export competitiveness and the nexus between tea export and economic growth: The cases of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka Long since the end of the British India regime, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka have produced a signifi cant volume of tea which continues to bring them invaluable foreign currency earnings through exports. Our paper explores the tea export competitiveness of these countries by employing the Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) index, and analyses the nexus between tea export and economic growth over the period from 1980 to 2018 using several dynamic econometric approaches. Results suggest that Bangladesh has lost its tea export competitiveness over the last decade. India posted moderate performance, while Sri Lanka consistently kept its dominant position. Further, the Johansen Cointegration test outcomes report no long-run relationship between tea export and economic growth across all the countries. The Granger Causality outcomes illustrate that only in Sri Lanka is it the case that tea export causes short-run economic growth. Lastly, the impulse response function projects tea export and economic growth, taking into consideration the response of each to a shock from the other. Extrapolation from the results indicate that, in contrast to the cases of Bangladesh and India (where no direct relationship was found), tea export and economic growth are intimately interconnected in Sri Lanka. This article further recommends eff ective policies so that economic growth in these countries can remain steady and that their tea industries can thrive.

Improving the technical efficiency and productivity of dairy farms in Greece

This paper aims to examine the current state of dairy cattle farming in Greece, to identify factors that aff ect its profitability, and to analyse the efficiency of farms, using the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. It also assesses the economic viability of dairy cattle farms by quantifying the technical efficiency of their processes, with a view to suggesting measures that may serve to improve competitiveness. Results have shown that the mean technical efficiencies estimated for the CRS and VRS DEA approaches are 0.693 and 0.754 respectively, indicating that 30.7% and 21.6% equiproportional decreases in inputs are feasible, given the level of outputs and the production technology.

COVID-19, spatial market integration and producer prices: A case study of EU agri-food markets

The spread of COVID-19 has had a signifi cant impact on economic and social activities, with the agri-food sector being no exception. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, numerous studies investigating its sectoral infl uence have been carried out, putting emphasis on demand and supply shocks and changes in trade volumes. However, there has not been much research into the implications of the pandemic for prices. To fi ll the research gap, this paper is an attempt to examine the impact of COVID-19 on producer prices in the EU-27 in Q2 and Q3 of 2020. The study is based on monthly data on trade in agri-food commodities according to the SITC classifi cation in 2015-2020 and the monthly producer prices index of food (2015 = 100) in the EU countries. It was assumed that the agri-food trade balance is the key factor determining the level and changes of domestic prices. The theoretical background for empirical research is provided by a spatial partial equilibrium model and the concept of spatial market integration. The results of the study reveal that there is a negative and statistically signifi cant relationship between an export-import ratio (which illustrates the country’s self-suffi ciency level) in the pre-COVID-19 period and price changes in Q2 of 2020 as well as Q3 of 2020. However, no statistically signifi cant results were obtained for the regression models explaining the relationship between changes in the export/import ratio and price changes in second and third quarters of 2020.

Factors infl uencing consumers’ behaviour towards organic food purchase in Denmark and Tanzania

This paper adds to the debate about factors infl uencing consumer behaviours that lead to the actual purchase of organic food in both developed and developing countries. Accordingly, authors seek to understand how consumers’ knowledge about organic food and consumers’ overall health consciousness play out as mechanisms for consumers’ behaviours leading to actual purchase. Samples from Tanzania as a developing country and Denmark as a developed country are used. A total of 1393 consumers fi lled the questionnaire. The study found that consumer knowledge and health consciousness function as underlying mechanisms in the relationship of attitude and subjective norms for actual purchase of organic food behaviour in Tanzania. In addition, consumer knowledge and health consciousness function as an underlying mechanism in the relationship of attitude and perceived behaviour control for actual purchase of organic food in Denmark. The study argues for enhancing consumers’ knowledge of organic food as the latter has been championed for its perceived health benefi ts in both developed and less developed countries.