Markets, Institutions, and the Quality of Agricultural Products: Cotton Quality in India

The modern global textile industry requires cotton with strong and consistent fibers in order to produce high quality goods at the high speeds necessary to recover capital costs. The introduction of high volume instrument (HVI) measurement of cotton fiber quality has strengthened the link between cotton prices and attributes on world markets. The spread of genetically modified (GMO) cotton in India has driven India to the second ranked producer and exporter of cotton in the world. However, contamination and other quality problems are endemic to Indian cotton. Using a unique data set of Indian cotton prices and quality attributes from 5 Indian states, this study uses hedonic price modeling to demonstrate that the linkages between cotton quality and price are weaker in India than they are in the United States.Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics,

International Agricultural Baseline Projections to 2007

This report provides baseline projections for international supply, demand, and trade for major agricultural commodities to 2007. It is a companion report to USDA Agricultural Baseline Projections, providing the foreign country details supporting those projections. Projections of strong global economic growth, particularly in developing countries, combined with more open foreign markets and the emergence of China as a major bulk commodity importer, support strong projected gains in U.S. farm exports. The value of total U.S. agricultural exports is projected to rise from a record $57.3 billion in FY 1997 to nearly$85 billion in 2007. The projections were completed based on information available as of December 1997, and reflect a composite of model results and analyst judgment.agriculture, commodities, international, projections, supply, use, trade, Production Economics,

Bringing Agriculture into the GATT: Negotiating a Framework for Action

International Relations/Trade,

India's farm sector performance and reform agenda

PRIFPRI3MTI

Farm sector performance and the reform agenda

PRIFPRI4NDO; MTI

Policy Reform and Farm Sector Adjustment in India

Policy reforms outside agriculture in the early 1990s accelerated growth in per capita incomes and food demand and also improved the terms of trade for the agriculture. Agricultural policies and institutions, traditionally focused on achieving food grain self sufficiency within a closed economy, have, however, been slow to adapt to a new environment of diversifying demand, more open markets, and a greater role for the private sector. Support price policy has remained delinked from domestic and international market realities, creating significant budgetary costs and market distortion. Inability to reform price policy and contain input subsidies has led to a decline in public investment in agriculture at a time when investment in new infrastructure and institutions is needed. Implementation of targeted safety net programs has proven difficult due to weak administrative capacity and local resource constraints. Reforms at the border, when implemented, have typically exposed inefficiencies in the domestic market that limit competitiveness. Consensus building for change in agricultural policy remains difficult in India. With the farm sector accounting for 25 percent of GDP and 60 percent of employment, there is a deep-rooted perception that the welfare of the poor is linked closely to the protection of agriculture. More research within economy-wide frameworks may be effective in evaluating impacts and provoking debate on fundamental reform. Also needed is research on the implications of market-oriented reforms for food price stability, and on impediments to private investment in agriculture

Pakistan: Determinants of Wheat Import Demand

Pakistan is one of Asia's major producers and consumers of wheat. Recent trends indicate significant growth in future imports under current policies. The United States has historically dominated the Pakistani market because government purchase procedures gave preference to imports under concessional and commercial credit programs, and to soft white wheat produced competitively by the United States. The recent decline in U.S. bilateral assistance, increases in credit from other suppliers, and privatization of imports have sharpened competition among suppliers on the basis of landed price and intrinsic quality characteristics. As a result, U.S. market share is threatened by the capacity of other suppliers to offer lower landed prices, as well as the hardness and low-moisture characteristics preferred by Pakistani millers and consumers

Sri Lanka: Determinants of Wheat Import Demand

Sri Lanka is the 16th largest U.S. market for wheat, and import demand is expected to be stronger in the 1990's than in the 1980's. U.S. wheat now dominates the Sri Lankan market, primarily as a result of sales through export programs, including P.L.-480, EEP, and GSM credits. Quality plays a minor role in Sri Lanka's choice of supplier. Many suppliers satisfy Sri Lanka's specifications, and government importers focus primarily on price and favorable grant or credit terms. Cleaner wheat is unlikely to affect U.S. sales. Future privatization of Sri Lanka's domestic wheat market is unlikely to significantly affect the role of quality or U.S. competitiveness. Privatization of imports could require U.S. wheat to be competitive solely on the basis of price to hold market share

Markets, Institutions, and the Quality of Agricultural Products: Cotton Quality in India

The modern global textile industry requires cotton with strong and consistent fibers in order to produce high quality goods at the high speeds necessary to recover capital costs. The introduction of high volume instrument (HVI) measurement of cotton fiber quality has strengthened the link between cotton prices and attributes on world markets. The spread of genetically modified (GMO) cotton in India has driven India to the second ranked producer and exporter of cotton in the world. However, contamination and other quality problems are endemic to Indian cotton. Using a unique data set of Indian cotton prices and quality attributes from 5 Indian states, this study uses hedonic price modeling to demonstrate that the linkages between cotton quality and price are weaker in India than they are in the United States