Enhancing nutrition availability through international trade: U.S. and global dairy exports to emerging markets

IF 6.8 1区经济学 Q1 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS & POLICY

Food Policy Pub Date : 2025-03-17 DOI:10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102846

Jason H. Grant , Kathryn A. Boys , Janice C. Giddens , William Loux

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines the importance of trade liberalization via U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) to distribute nutritionally valuable foods to lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Focusing on dairy products that are rich in essential nutrients and linked to important health benefits, we construct 24 years of bilateral trade data (1998–2021) augmented with nutrient composition information. A structural gravity model is developed to quantify the nutrient availability within U.S. FTAs. Results indicate that while U.S. FTAs increased the value of dairy imports by 86 %, on average, they more than doubled the availability of dairy protein and key micronutrients. Second, trade increases among LMIC FTA partners were not due to trade diversion away from non-member suppliers. Rather, we find some evidence that LMICs increased dairy trade with both U.S. and non-U.S. export suppliers. Third, using population data, we translate FTA trade effects into gains in nutrient availability for consumers. As a percentage of recommended dietary allowance from all food sources, U.S. dairy exports to LMIC FTA partners contributed to an increase of 0.9 and 1.8 percentage points, on average, in the availability of calcium and vitamin B₁₂. Finally, the estimated gains in nutrient availability correspond to significant reductions in dairy trade costs over the study period (e.g. Mexico, −50 %). These findings highlight the importance of trade liberalization as a key mechanism to distribute essential nutrients to regions with insufficient availability through their own domestic production. They also underscore an underexplored avenue for policymakers to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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来源期刊

Food Policy 管理科学-农业经济与政策

CiteScore

11.40

自引率

4.60%

发文量

128

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： Food Policy is a multidisciplinary journal publishing original research and novel evidence on issues in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies for the food sector in developing, transition, and advanced economies. Our main focus is on the economic and social aspect of food policy, and we prioritize empirical studies informing international food policy debates. Provided that articles make a clear and explicit contribution to food policy debates of international interest, we consider papers from any of the social sciences. Papers from other disciplines (e.g., law) will be considered only if they provide a key policy contribution, and are written in a style which is accessible to a social science readership.