THE IMPACT OF PRICES ON SEAFOOD TRADE: A PANEL DATA ANALYSIS OF THE FRENCH SEAFOOD MARKET

Abstract

In the early 1990s, two major crises affected the French fish market. Low import prices were suspected to have affected import levels of fish. Therefore, this paper looks at the empirical economic factors of fish imports in France. Most economic papers related to this field use a demand function of imports for a single product and focus only on trade relations between two countries. In this research, a panel data trade model is used at the multilateral level with many trade partners and products over several years. Results are presented by product groups at both aggregated and disaggregated levels. French imports appear to be very sensitive to internal price competitiveness and nominal exchange rates, with a differentiated impact according to the degree of processing. From that model, simulations show the consequences of the implementation of a single European currency on seafood trade.International Relations/Trade, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,