Analysis of export and import structures using network methods (on the example of the agricultural market)

Analysis of trade cooperation between countries and identification of the most significant market participants is of great importance, both theoretically and empirically. The global trading community forms a network of international relations defined by trade contracts in various industries. Export-import trade flows are one of the key indicators of the level of cooperation among countries and the state of the global economy. The high intensity of such contacts across groups of countries suggests the existence of clusters in this market segment,consisting of central players — exporters and importers, who often define rules for other participants.Understanding the existence and identification of such a center helps to develop an optimal international trade strategy. The purpose of this contribution is to identify factors affecting trade flows among different countries. Statistical analysis of the international trade relations does not always reveal all the essential aspects of cooperation. This paper combines the methods of graph theory and econometric analysis to study the parameters of trade flows among countries. The parameters used in the network analysis make it possible to obtain additional characteristics of market participants, which help to evaluate their significance in the world trade. The paper also identifies some key mathematical and economic characteristics of export-import flows connecting destination countries. We have analyzed the directions of changes in world trade and established correspondences between metric characteristics of graph vertices and parameters of world trade models. The Russian indicators in export/import categories and its largest sales agents are estimated. The identification of the key intermediaries and importers (centers and authorities) on each of the markets in question has been carried out. As an example for this identification the market of agricultural products among the world’s largest exporters and importers of the product were used.