Reviewing Agricultural Trade Policies
To Promote Intra-OIC Agricultural Trade
9
Chapter 1: Conceptual Framework and Methodology
This chapter is devoted to presenting the conceptual framework and methodology employed in
this study, introducing the conceptual framework and methodology under three subsections: (i)
data sources and terminology, (ii) methodology, and (iii) case studies.
In the first subsection, comparative analysis has been undertaken to evaluate the scope,
drawbacks, and limitations of different data sources in line with research questions. Moreover,
data cleaning process is described. In the second subsection, methodologies employed during
descriptive studies are presented while focusing on the basic categorization of the data. Third
and the last subsection focuses on the quantitative and qualitative approach employed during
case studies in the context of the study.
1.1. Data Sources and Terminology
To review agricultural trade policies that directly or indirectly affect agricultural trade networks
(agricultural bilateral trade flows) among OIC member countries, data on (i) trade flows, (ii)
regional trade agreements, (iii) applied tariff rates, and (iv) non-tariff measures are scrutinized
as the major source of information. Additionally, literature review, global and local socio-
economic indicators are utilized as complementarity sources. Hereinafter, following sections
separately lay out the advantages and limitations of different data sources employed through
the study considering the required time for analysis, time span and country coverage, and
consistency.
1.1.1. Trade Flows
The United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade) covers international
imports and exports statistics reported by statistical authorities of many countries. On the one
hand, UN Comtrade is considered as the most comprehensive trade database since it covers
standardized statements of national authorities and it has been continuously updated with the
new flow of information. On the other hand, UN Comtrade has some data limitations. Several
limitations are listed below:
 Countries do not necessarily report their trade statistics for each and every year.
 UN Comtrade does not apply any estimation method for missing information.
 Due to confidentiality, some countries may not report some of its detailed trade flows.
Imports reported by one country may not coincide with exports reported by the corresponding
partner. Inconsistencies can be due to various factors including the difference in accounting and
valuation principles for export and import flows (imports CIF, exports FOB), and inclusions/
exclusions of particular products etc.
In addition, most of the known third party data sources such as ITC’s Trade Map and UNCTAD
andWorld Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) are reporting UN Comtrade statistics
with their analyses and visualization tools. While ITC’s Trade Map provides a range of different
visualization and analyses tools, WITS is standing out with its “bulk data download” option.
However, latest trade data for many of the OIC members are not available officially through UN
Comtrade or over its other extensions.
In the case of missing observations, data mirroring is another option to build data for a non-
reported country based on statements of other countries. With regards, CEPII’s BACI (Base pour
L’Analyse du Commerce International - Database for International Trade Analyzes) is employed.