Changes in comparative advantages of the Polish food sector in world trade

Abstract

Research background: The period after Poland's accession to the European Union is a period of systematic development of Polish foreign trade in food products. Positive changes were visible already in the first year, but trade turnover and the balance of food exchange were even more dynamic in the subsequent years of Poland's membership in the EU.
 Purpose of the article: One way to assess the competitiveness of Polish food sector is the analysis of comparative advantages (relative) in the trade of products of this sector. So the aim of the presented research is to assess the comparative ad-vantages of the Polish food sector (including its most important chapters).
 Methods: The analysis of comparative advantages was based on relative trade advantage index (RTA) and the Lafay trade balance index (TBI). The analyses cover the years 2004–2017. The data source was the WITS-Comtrade trading database, in which trade flows are expressed in USD. The analysis was carried out at the HS chapter level.
 Findings & Value added: The analysis of comparative advantages in the Polish trade in food products showed that during the membership in the European Union Poland had relative comparative advantages in the food trade on the world market. In the years 2004–2017 Polish export in agri-food products increased more than 4.5 times and the positive balance of trade in these products increased more than 9.0 times. Products in trade of which Poland had comparative advantages in 2017 accounted for 55.5% of trade of the Polish agri-food sector in the global market, i.e. by 12.8% more than in the year of accession of Poland to the EU. The dynamic development of trade in food products after Poland's accession to the EU, as well as significant comparative advantages in trade in these products, testify to the competitiveness and high importance of the Polish food sector for the national economy.

Agri-Food Trade Competitiveness: A Review of the Literature

“…The major source of the country's competitiveness is the intense intra-industry trade driven by the high demand of the common market, the economies of scale resulting from specialization, and the increasing purchasing power of Polish consumers. The same results were received for the period of 2004-2017 when the RCA and the TBI were used [33]. Their increasing values indicated the increasing competitiveness of the Polish agri-food products on the international markets.…”

Competitiveness of the EU Agri-Food Sector on the US Market: Worth Reviving Transatlantic Trade?

“…In this way, the import and export situation of a given country is considered at the same time [61]. The RC index together with the Lafay Trade Balance Index (TBI), which describes the nature of the trade balance was used by previous research [62,63]. Moreover, estimates of comparative advantages referring to the approach proposed by Vollrath were conducted by many researchers [50,[64][65][66][67][68].…”

Identification of the Relationships between Competitive Potential and Competitive Position of the Food Industry in the European Union

“…These definitions refer to the theory of economic growth and international trade, in which competitiveness is seen as the ability to maintain or increase international market shares. The presented approach to the international competitiveness of the sector has been applied in many other studies [34][35][36][37][38]. They stress that competitiveness studies at the sectoral level indicate that competition is not only met in the national but also the international market.…”