A trade performance analysis of fresh fruit and vegetables in Mediterranean countries.

For many of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, fruit and vegetables are very important products. In light of the increasing trade liberalization and thus increasing competition between countries, this paper aims to investigate the competitiveness of ten Mediterranean countries with respect to fresh fruit and vegetables. The analysis rests on two foundations. Firstly, a set of indicators are calculated to give a general impression of trends and potentials. Secondly, two constant market share analyses are performed. In the first analysis, the countries’ competitiveness in world trade is investigated and used as a reference scenario. In the second analysis, the investigated countries’ competitiveness has been investigated with respect to trade with one major trading partner; the European Union. The results generally show that the competitiveness of the investigated countries has deteriorated over the period