Performance of South Mediterranean Countries export supply-chain on the European market: between competition and cooperation

The objective of this paper is to provide a focused analysis of the competitiveness of fruit and vegetable exports of some south Mediterranean countries (Egypt and Morocco). We first provide a brief overview of the export flows to the international market aimed at analyzing the dynamics of destination markets and exported product range. Then, the competitiveness on the European (and Italian) market is analyzed. After an introductory analysis of the dynamics of Egypt and Morocco shares on EU (and Italian) F&V imports over the period 2000-2010 per product category, a Constant Market Share Analysis (CMSA) is developed. This method enables to further analyze the trade performance by decomposing the change in imports from Egypt and Morocco into different components (market size, commodity composition, and competitiveness effect). Finally, we provide a discussion on the substitutability / complementarity between imports from Egypt and Morocco and Italian production and on the possible price and non-price competitiveness factors. This discussion is further developed by an analysis of third countries’ capacity to comply with food safety requirements of the Italian market. A final discussion on the possibilities of North-South cooperation in then provided