Growth and Competitiveness of Non-Traditional Agricultural Exports in Zambia

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of growth and competitiveness of Zambia's flower exports to three main export destinations-the Netherlands, the UK and Germany-using annual time series data from 1990 to 2010. Acknowledging that time series data are often nonstationary, leading to misleading economic analyses, the study employs cointegration and error correction models to establish factors of conditions growth and competitiveness of Zambia's flower exports. The results show that supply and competitiveness of flower exports are positively influenced by domestic flower production, real GDP and population of importing countries, relative depreciation of domestic currency and world export prices. In contrast, exports from competing countries and real interest rates were found to negatively influence flower exports. This seems to suggest that monetary policies and exchange rate regimes that promote trade are required for enhancing and fostering an environment favorable for flower production and exporting. In addition, the replacement of Zambia's flower exports by those from other countries dictates that there must be a quality improvement so the country's exports can compete favorably with those from other countries.

Effect of exchange rate volatility on Rwandan coffee price and export volumes

“…On the other hand, a long-run increase in the trading partners' incomes may direct resources towards other highly productive products and reduce domestic coffee production, thereby increasing the number of coffee imports from Rwanda. This finding is consistent with Mwansakilwa et al (2013) who found a positive and significant association between Zambian flower export volumes and the industrial production of Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Exchange rate volatility was negative and significantly associated with the long-run elasticity of Rwandese coffee exports.…”

“…The exchange rate policy was introduced in 1995 (NBR, 2015). The objective of the regime was to stabilize the exchange rate and prices, and to enhance economic growth as well as link the national exchange market to the world market (Mukunzi, 2004). From 2000 till today, the share of coffee exports to the GDP has considerably been fluctuating (NISR, 2015;NAEB, 2019).…”

Diamond model and the export competitiveness of the agriculture industry from emerging markets: an exploratory vision based on a spatial effect study using a genetic algorithm

“…Liu and Revell (2009) discovered that emerging markets such as China have higher comparative advantages in labour-intensive agricultural products such as vegetables and that the performance of labour-intensive products is positively related to China's increase of share in world trade. Mwansakilwa, Tembo, and Mugisha (2013) also found that the supply and competitiveness of flower exports are positively influenced by domestic flower production, real G.D.P. and population of importing countries, relative depreciation of domestic currency and world export prices, while exports from competing countries and real interest rates were found to negatively influence flower exports.…”

A Traditional and Non-traditional Export Performance Assessment: An empirical examination of factors enhancing the competitiveness of Zambia's Exports

“…The findings showed that Zambia's trade flows are significantly influenced by economic size, rates of inflation, and currency rates in addition to foreign direct investment. In employing an error correction model, (Mwansakilwa, 2013) also analyzed the improvement and profitability of Zambia's flower exports with its main trading partners, which include the United Kingdom and Netherlands after evaluation data from 1990 to 2010. the study reviewed that Flower exports were shown to be significantly influenced by export credit, flower output, and real exchange rate on the demand side. Flower exports also exhibited cointegration with variables such as importing countries' populations, prices levels, real exchange rates, real gross domestic product, and exports by other nations.…”