Analysis of Agri-Food Trade Structures
To Promote Agri-Food Trade Networks
In the Islamic Countries
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reliable measure of export potential than, for example, recent patterns in the net balance
of trade at the product level.
11. Given the importance of NTMs in the agricultural sector, a key issue for countries
developing an export base is quality and certification. OIC members deal with this issue
in different ways, but there is a clear movement towards supporting national quality
infrastructure, including in areas like halal certification, although the movement is not
yet universal.
Although this report deals with data and qualitative information in a highly specific way, at the
level of individual countries and products, it is not appropriate to make recommendations at the
same level because they would not be broadly applicable to OIC’s membership. Rather, it is most
useful to focus on areas of strategy and policy that can be of some relevance to all members
across regional groupings and income levels. Based on the findings above, it is possible to distill
a number of feasible recommendations for the consideration of OIC member countries:
1. Collaborative policy liberalization: OIC member countries should continue to work
with organizational and regional partners, as well as other willing parties, to
progressively liberalize agricultural policies at the multilateral level. Pushing for
liberalization within the multilateral system is a long-term goal, and one that limits the
potential for trade diversion that can arise from the use of preferences or regional
agreements. Member countries should also give further consideration to unilateral
liberalization of agricultural policies on a Most-Favored Nation (MFN) basis, consistent
with the evidence produced in the report that MFN tariffs have been becoming less
restrictive over time, even though no negotiations have been concluded on agriculture
since the end of the Uruguay Round in 1994.
2. Look Beyond Traditional Trade Policies : Both the data analysis and case studies have
shown that the pattern of bilateral trade is a complex interplay of a number of different
economic forces. But a major factor is connectivity. This is all the more true in emerging
agricultural product sectors like fresh fruits and vegetables, and fish, where cold chain
storage is important. There is evidence that some OIC member countries have strong
comparative advantages in these sectors. To take advantage of them, however, they
need to develop high quality transport connections with consumer markets. Trade
agreements often do not address such issues, but broader economic cooperation
programs can. Developing connectivity is one way of reducing trade costs in agricultural
markets, in addition to lowering tariffs and rationalizing NTMs.
3. Regional integration and preferences: Member countries should continue their work
to develop and implement a preferential market access scheme, as well as to conclude
more intra- and cross-regional trade agreements, as a second best policy option when
multilateral liberalization is not available. This approach can help member countries
benefit from the strong intra-regional dynamic of agricultural trade by combining with
regional partners to liberalize trade on a preferential basis. Most intra-OIC trade already
takes place on a preferential basis, but the number and scope of agreements can be
widened to include more countries. In addition, trade agreements should be regularly
re-inspected for additional areas that can be covered, such as NTMs, including trade
facilitation, quality and certification, mutual recognition, and capacity development, in
addition to just liberalizing tariffs.