The Role of Global Economic Growth in Pakistani Agri-Food Exports

This analysis uses least squares and Heckman maximum likelihood estimation procedures with fixed effects to explore the role of economic growth in 36 developed and developing economies—categorised as low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle-, and high-income—in explaining their agri-food import of 29 products from Pakistan during 1990 to 2000. We reject the hypothesis that the economic growth of these economies does not influence Pakistani agri-food product exports. However, the estimated income elasticities are statistically elastic only for lower-middle income countries, suggesting that their expenditure on Pakistani agri-food exports will increase disproportionately as their economies grow. Hence, lower-middle-income countries provide good export opportunities for Pakistan’s agri-food products. JEL Classifications: F14, Q17 Keywords: Economic Growth, Agri-food Trade, Income Elasticities, Developing Countrie

Revenue Determinants for Abu-Dhabi Fishermen and Assessment of Input Allocative Efficiency

This study examined the fishing industry in Abu Dhabi, the main fish-producing Emirate in the UAE, from the fishermen’s point of view. Marginal analysis was used to identify the most prominent fishing-revenue determinants along with assessing the allocative (price) efficiency of inputs used. A log-log total value product (TVP) function was estimated for a representative cross-section random sample of 131 Abu-Dhabi fishermen. This revealed that (1) labor, fishing effort, boat capacity, boat boarding expenses, and expenditures on oil and lubricants are the five main determinants of total revenue for the individual fishermen in Abu Dhabi; (2) boat-purchase price constituted a huge investment cost to fishermen distributed over the lifetime of the boat; although only one-third of fishermen acquire loans for this purpose; (3) the only type of records fishermen keep were those pertinent to monthly revenues; and (4) price efficiency is found not to be achieved for any of the five prominent inputs that have great impact on total fishermen’s revenues, as three inputs were found to be under-utilized in varying degrees, whereas two were found to be significantly over-utilized

Consumers’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Food Safety in the United Arab Emirates

This study analyzes consumers’ attitudes and perceptions of food safety in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study hypothesized that different ethnic groups perceive food safety differently for a number of reasons. A cross-section sample representing the country’s four ethnic groups was analyzed. A probit model was used to analyze factors affecting consumers’ perception and attitude toward major food safety concerns and practices. The results show that the most common food safety practice was reading expiration dates, food poisoning was the most frequent food safety concern, the family doctor was the most trusted source of information, and the householder himself was the most responsible entity regarding food safety. The respondents’ education levels and their ethnicity were the main determinants of their attitudes toward major food-safety concerns. The results indicated that it would be more effective for food-safety awareness campaigns to be disseminated through different sources of information targeting different ethnic groups

Public Acceptance of Wastewater Reuse: New Evidence from Factor and Regression Analyses

The present study attempts to unravel the determinants of public acceptance of Treated Wastewater (TWW) reuse in the United Arab Emirates. A representative sample (1426) of Al-Ain city residents, were interviewed, using a structured questionnaire, on their knowledge and attitudes towards TWW reuse, and other demographic characteristics. Descriptive analysis shows high public acceptance for applications with low contact and lower acceptance for those involving direct or indirect consumption of TWW, and/or skin contact. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of acceptance responses identified (Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin test = 0.942; p-value < 0.001 for Bartlett’s test) five factors/categories of applications that differ in level and type of contact. The five groups of applications are Direct consumption, Indirect Consumption, Non-food Agricultural, Industrial, and Skin Contact. ANOVA analysis (p < 0.0001) and Spearman’s Rho test validated earlier findings. Another PCA of respondents’ reasons for hesitation towards TWW delivers two factors, attitude toward contamination risk and psychological “yuck” factors. Regression analyses show that both factors are influenced by knowledge and sources of information, and the former is affected by demographic characteristics. PCA and regression analyses provide a robust methodological framework for the study TWW reuse acceptance, and highlight the importance of communication in improving its social sustainability

Economic Risk and Efficiency Assessment of Fisheries in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE): A Stochastic Approach

The fishing industry in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), plays an important role in diversifying food sources in order to enhance national food security. The fishing industry is facing an increasing risk that may impact the sustainability (i.e., quantity and quality) of the fish caught and consumed in the UAE. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to analyze common Abu-Dhabi fishing management alternatives using various stochastic dominance techniques (i.e., first/second degree stochastic dominance, stochastic dominance with respect to a function and stochastic efficiency with respect to a function) to assess the risk facing UAE fishermen. The techniques represent a risk assessment continuum, which can provide a ranking of management alternatives to improve decision making outcomes and help maintain long-term UAE fishing sustainability. Data for the stochastic dominance analyses were obtained from a cross-sectional survey conducted through face-to-face interviews of Abu Dhabi, UAE, fishermen. Analysis of fishing methods, trap sizes and trap numbers using stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF) showed that fishermen efficient practices were not the same for risk-neutral fishermen compared to risk averse fishermen. Overall, the stochastic dominance results illustrated the importance of considering both attitude towards risk and economic inefficiencies in managing UAE fishery practices and designing successful fishery policies, as well as improving decision-making at the fishermen level

Optimum Returns from Greenhouse Vegetables under Water Quality and Risk Constraints in the United Arab Emirates

Greenhouses have been used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to produce vegetables that contribute toward UAE food security, including offering fresh vegetable produce in the off-season. However, to manage such greenhouses, farmers face both technical and environmental limitations (i.e., high water scarcity), as well as vegetable market price instability. The objective of this study is to explore tradeoffs between returns (i.e., gross margin) of selected vegetables (tomato, pepper, and cucumber), risk (deviation from gross margin means), and an environmental constraint (water salinity) using a unique target MOTAD (minimization of total absolute deviations) approach to support UAE farmer decision-making processes. The optimal target MOTAD solution included all three vegetables and no corner solution. The results showed tradeoffs between returns and risks, and confirmed that product diversification reduces overall risk. The analysis was consistent with farmer perceptions based on a survey of 78 producers in the region. The search for the optimal mix of vegetable production under UAE greenhouse conditions revealed that reduction in tomato production should be offset by an increase in cucumber production while maintaining a constant level of pepper production. In other words, risk is reduced as cucumber production increases due to the high level of tomato and lettuce price volatility as the alternative to cucumber. The results also demonstrated the importance of the water salinity environmental constraint, as it was found to have a positive marginal value in the optimal vegetable mix solution (i.e., important factor). Thus the optimal solution was highly sensitive to changes in the crop water salinity constraint. The study results also demonstrate that the target MOTAD approach is a suitable optimization methodology. As a practical approach, a decision-maker in the UAE can consider gross margin (total revenue-variable costs) maximization with risk and water quality constraints to find the optimal vegetable product mix under greenhouse conditions