The Impact of Fruit Production and Trade on Global Climate Change: The Case of EU-27 Countries

Global climate change is a crucial issue of the third millennium. The discussion of food security and access risks has become widespread worldwide. Countries are developing policies and making agreements at the regional and global levels. Agricultural production is one of the many sectors affected by global climate change. The agricultural sector contributes to CO2 emissions through tillage, fertilizer and pesticide use, agricultural waste, and transportation. Fruit growing is one area where these factors are used intensively. The production and foreign trade of these products using intensive agricultural methods contribute to annual temperature increases on Earth. This study analyzes the impact of total fruit production, imports, and exports on annual temperature changes in EU-27 countries between 2000 and 2021 using advanced econometric models. The results indicate that both total fruit production and imports contribute to annual temperature increases. Policies at the local, national, and international levels should be reorganized to consider the impact of global climate change on production and transportation systems.