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The Competitiveness and Sustainability of Global Agriculture

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 20944

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Attila Jambor

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
Interests: competitiveness; agri-food trade; food security; agricultural policy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Competitiveness is the backbone of modern agriculture. Although the concept lacks a universally accepted definition and measurement method, there has been a growing number of research on farm, regional, national, and global competitiveness of agricultural activities recently. Company leaders and decision-makers constantly explore different ways to increase the competitiveness of their firms, industries, and nations. This Special Issue aims to provide unique insights to the competitiveness of global agriculture and also their sustainability challenges. Original papers analyzing the competitiveness of agricultural farms, the food industry, value chains or the farm sector are welcome. Authors are encouraged to cover a wide range of geographical coverage from local to global issues. Papers focusing on the changing nature of agricultural competitiveness in time are also welcome. The issue pays special attention to the determinants of agricultural competitiveness and the associated dilemmas among economic, environmental, and social challenges. Papers written on a novel and innovative approach in agricultural competitiveness research as well as policy recommendations and lessons learned for decision-makers are also encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Attila Jambor
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Productivity
Efficiency
Micro/meso/macro levels
Trade
Value chains
Sustainability challenges
Agricultural policy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3641 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Are the Reasons Behind the Economic Performance of the Hungarian Beer Industry? The Case of the Hungarian Microbreweries

by Lili Jantyik, Jeremiás Máté Balogh and Áron Török

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2829; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13052829 - 05 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3499

Abstract

In terms of absolute alcohol consumption and total quantity consumed, beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in Hungary. The Hungarian beer industry is highly concentrated, the three largest, foreign-owned companies ruled the market for almost 90% of total turnover in 2009–2017. The study investigates the factors influencing the Hungarian beer industry’s economic performance, special attention given to the microbreweries. The analysis applied panel-data linear models for the period of 2009–2017. The financial performance of breweries is represented by companies’ turnover, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) and profit along with explanatory variables of the age of brewery, Social Media activity, geographical location, direct sales, and impact of tax reduction. Breweries with direct sales channels reached significantly higher sales, EBIT and profit. Breweries situated in or close to the capital are the most profitable due to the higher demand for high-quality beer, in contrast, the distance from the capital had a negative impact on the firms’ performance. The Social Media activity–often used as the only promotion channel for the microbrewery–positively impacts the brewery’s profitability. Finally, tax reduction for small breweries introduced in 2012 had the most significant positive influence on the industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Competitiveness and Sustainability of Global Agriculture)

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15 pages, 289 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Agri-Food Export Competitiveness of the ASEAN Countries

by Tamás Mizik, Ákos Szerletics and Attila Jámbor

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9860; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12239860 - 25 Nov 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3876

Abstract

Agri-food trade competitiveness analyses are relatively understudied in the empirical literature with many countries/regions missing. The novelty of this paper to analyze the agri-food export competitiveness patterns of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), thereby aiming to fill this gap in the literature. Our research questions include which countries and products are competitive in the ASEAN region in agri-food trade; whether raw materials or processed products are more competitive; whether regional or global agri-food trade is more competitive and how persistent competitiveness is in the long run. The paper is based on ASEAN–ASEAN and ASEAN–world agri-food trade flows from 2010 to 2018, thereby global and regional competitiveness patterns have become visible. Results suggest that Myanmar (18.88), Laos (8.21) and the Philippines (5.36) have the highest levels of agri-food trade competitiveness in the world market, while in regional markets, Laos (17.17), Cambodia (15.46) and Myanmar (12.39) were the most competitive. Both raw materials, as well as processed products, are generally competitive, and regional trade, in general, was more competitive than global trade for the majority of the countries. However, results suggest a generally decreasing trend in keeping these competitive positions, which is also supported by the duration tests. Survival chances of 98% at the beginning of the period fell to 0–25% by the end of the period, significant at all levels, suggesting that a generally fierce competition exists for ASEAN countries in global as well as regional agri-food trade. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Competitiveness and Sustainability of Global Agriculture)

24 pages, 543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determining Factors of Innovative Performance: Case Studies in Extremaduran Agri-Food Companies

by Beatriz Corchuelo Martínez-Azúa, Pedro Eugenio López-Salazar and Celia Sama-Berrocal

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 9098; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12219098 - 01 Nov 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3091

Abstract

The agri-food industry plays an important role in the manufacturing industry in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura (Spain). The main objective of this study is to identify which business factors influence the success of the innovative performance in this regional industry. We proposed a novel theoretical model in which we analyzed the effect of six business variables. Using a multiple-case study, five in-depth interviews were carried out to measure the level of importance that managers gave to each of the variables. The study validated the proposed model in which all the contrasted variables (Management, Strategy, Structure, Culture, Climate, and Market Orientation) had a great weight for the achievement of the innovative performance. The study contributes to the promotion of the capacities and competences of the agri-food companies’ managers for the development of innovative activities favoring the knowledge, the external visibility, and the competitiveness of the companies. It is also useful for Public Administrations when developing policies to promote and encourage innovation in a sector of vital importance in the rural and regional development of this Spanish region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Competitiveness and Sustainability of Global Agriculture)

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15 pages, 289 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Influencing Competitiveness in the Global Beer Trade

by Áron Török, Ákos Szerletics and Lili Jantyik

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5957; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12155957 - 24 Jul 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5157

Abstract

Beer is a widely produced, consumed, and traded alcoholic drink all around the world. This paper investigates the factors influencing competitiveness in the global beer trade on the macroeconomic level. To reach this aim, descriptive analysis and panel regression together with stability tests were used on the global beer market from 1998 to 2017. Results showed high concentration both in global production and trade, while except for the most competitive beer-exporting countries, the level of comparative advantages has significantly changed in these three decades. Based on the panel regression models, total beer production and per capita consumption, EU membership, and the number of beers with geographical indications have a positive impact on comparative advantages. In contrast, barley production, level of foreign direct investments, size of the population, GDP/capita, and high quality level of the beer export have a negative effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Competitiveness and Sustainability of Global Agriculture)

Review

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14 pages, 888 KiB

Open AccessReview

Agri-Food Trade Competitiveness: A Review of the Literature

by Tamás Mizik

Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11235; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132011235 - 12 Oct 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4429

Abstract

Being competitive in the international agri-food trade is an important aim of every country. It should be noted that this term has neither a commonly accepted definition nor a synthetized index to quantify it. The most commonly used indices in the international literature are the Balassa index and its modified versions (revealed trade advantage, revealed competitiveness, normalized revealed comparative advantage, and revealed symmetric comparative advantage) and different export and/or import-related indices (e.g., the Grubel–Lloyd index or the trade balance index). Based on a systematic review of the literature, these measurements were identified along with the major factors suggested for higher agri-food trade competitiveness. It seems that supportive legislation and/or (trade) policy is the most crucial factor, followed by higher value-added/more sophisticated goods, and high, efficient, and profitable production. Although the EU and its member states were overrepresented in the analyzed literature, the candidate countries, as well as other important trading partners of the EU, e.g., Canada, China, or the ASEAN countries, were also analyzed. Thus, some of these findings may be generalized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Competitiveness and Sustainability of Global Agriculture)

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