Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2024, Vol. 23 Issue (3): 1061-1074    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.11.033
Agricultural Economics and Management Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |

Does Green Food Certification promote agri-food export quality?  Evidence from China

Ping Wei1*, Hongman Liu1*#, Chaokai Xu1, Shibin Wen2

1 College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China

2 School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  

食品认证体系建设对产品出口质量升级至关重要,而这一点在以往的研究中往往被忽视。本文将行业层面绿色食品认证数据与HS6分位农食产品出口数据进行匹配,实证分析了中国国内绿色食品认证对农食产品出口质量的影响。我们发现,绿色食品认证显著提升了中国农食产品的出口质量。基于工具变量的2SLS估计和一系列稳健性检验证实了基准结论的有效性和稳健性。拓展性分析发现,绿色食品认证通过提高农业生产效率和提升品牌溢价优势促进产品出口质量提升。异质性分析结果表明,分地区来看,绿色食品认证对出口到发达地区、进口监管高水平地区的农食产品的出口质量的提升效果更大;分产品来看,对初级农食产品、容易遭受非关税壁垒的农食产品的出口质量的提升效应更明显。上述研究结论对指导中国农食系统质量认证体系建设及农食产品贸易转型升级具有重要启示。



Abstract  

The construction of a food certification system plays a vital role in upgrading export quality, which previous studies have largely overlooked.  We match China’s industry-level data of Green Food Certification with its HS6-digit export data of agri-food products to quantify the impact of Green Food Certification on export quality.  We identify the significant and positive effect of Green Food Certification on export quality.  The 2SLS estimation based on instrumental variables and a range of robustness checks confirm the validity and robustness of the benchmark conclusions.  Further analysis discloses that Green Food Certification improves export quality by raising agricultural production efficiency and brand premiums.  Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of Green Food Certification varies across regions, notably improving the quality of agri-food products exported to developed regions and regions with high levels of import supervision.  Furthermore, among various product types, Green Food Certification significantly improves the export quality of primary products and products vulnerable to non-tariff measures.  The above findings could guide the future development of agri-food quality certification systems, potentially leading to a transformation and promotion of the agri-food trade.

Keywords:  green food certification        agri-food products        green transformation        export quality        food labeling   
Received: 20 February 2023   Accepted: 10 August 2023
Fund: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72061147002) and the National Social Science Foundation of China (18ZDA074). 
About author:  Ping Wei, E-mail: pingwei_2020@163.com; #Correspondence Hongman Liu, E-mail: liuhm@cau.edu.cn * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Ping Wei, Hongman Liu, Chaokai Xu, Shibin Wen. 2024.

Does Green Food Certification promote agri-food export quality?  Evidence from China . Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 23(3): 1061-1074.

Antoniades A. 2015. Heterogeneous firms, quality, and trade. Journal of International Economics, 95, 263–273.

Bac V H, Nanseki T, Chomei Y. 2018. Profit efficiency of tea farmers: Case study of safe and conventional farms in northern Vietnam. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 21,1695–1713.

Bao X H, Zhu D M. 2014. Marginal effects of technical barriers to trade and exports - A test based on industrial trade flows. China Economic Quarterly, 13, 1393–1414. (in Chinese)

Baylis K, Nogueira L, Fan L, Pace K. 2022. Something fishy inseafood trade? The relation between tariff and non-tariff barriers. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 104, 1656–1678.

Bemelmans J, Curzi D, Olper A, Maertens M. 2023. Trade effects of voluntary sustainability standards in tropical commodity sectors. Food Policy, 118, 102440.

Blyde J, Lberti G, Mussini M. 2018. When does innovation matter for exporting? Empirical Economics, 54, 1653–1671.

Broda C, Weinstein D E. 2006. Globalization and the gains from variety. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121, 541–585.

Crivelli P, Groeschl J. 2016. The impact of sanitary and phytosanitary measures on market entry and trade flows. The World Economy, 39, 444–473.

Curzi D, Schuster M, Maertens M, Olper A. 2020. Standards, trade margins and product quality: Firm-level evidence from Peru. Food Policy, 91, 101834.

Dhahri S, Omri A. 2020. Does foreign capital really matter for the host country agricultural production? Evidence from developing countries. Review of World Economics, 156, 153–181.

Fan H, Li Y A, Yeaple S R. 2015. Trade liberalization, quality, and export prices. Review of Economics and Statistics, 97, 1033–1051.

Fan H C, Guo G Y. 2015. The relationship between export price, export quality and productivity: Evidence from China. The Journal of World Economy, 38, 58–85.

Ferro E, Otsuki T, Wilson J S. 2015. The effect of product standards on agricultural exports. Food Policy, 50, 68–79.

Fiankor D D D, Curzi D, Olper A. 2021. Trade, price and quality upgrading effects of agri-food standards. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 48, 835–877.

Filippis F D, Giua M, Salvatici L, Vaquero-Piñeiro C. 2022. The international trade impacts of Geographical Indications: Hype or hope? Food Policy, 112, 102371.

Garvin D A. 1984. What does product quality really mean? Sloan Management Review, 26, 25–43.

He X G, Zhu G Y, Feng D W. 2023. Industrial robot application and labor income share - Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises. China Industrial Economics, 421, 98–116. (in Chinese)

Hejazi M, Grant J H, Peterson E. 2022. Trade impact of maximum residue limits in fresh fruits and vegetables. Food Policy, 106, 1–12.

Jiang C Y. 2022. China’s strategic thinking and practical measures to promote the construction of a strong agricultural country. Social Science Journal, 263, 128–135. (in Chinese)

Jin X Y, Shi B Z. 2022. Internet search, information cost and export product quality. China Industrial Economics, 413, 99–117. (in Chinese)

Kareem F O, Martínez-Zarzoso I. 2020. Are EU standards detrimental to Africa’s exports? Journal of Policy Modeling, 42, 1022–1037.

Khandelwal A K, Schott P K, Wei S J. 2013. Trade liberalization and embedded institutional reform: Evidence from Chinese exporters. American Economic Review, 103, 2169–2195.

Li H, Lu Q. 2020. Can product quality certification improve farmers’ technical efficiency - Based on evidence from typical vegetable planting areas in Shandong and Hebei. Chinese Rural Economy, 5, 128–144. (in Chinese)

Liu, R, Gao, Z, Nayga, RM, Shi, L, Oxley, L, Ma, H. 2020. Can “green food” certification achieve both sustainable practices and economic benefits in a transitional economy? The case of kiwifruit growers in Henan Province, China. Agribusiness, 36, 675– 692.

Lu J, Yan Y, Huang X H. 2022. Research on the carbon leakage effect of scale-dependent energy conservation policy. China Industrial Economics, 414, 64–82. (in Chinese)

Ma X, Liu Z, Meng T, Florkowski W J, Mu Y. 2022. Impact of food sustainability labels on the price of rice in online sales. Foods, 11, 1–12.

Martinez M G, Banados F. 2004. Impact of EU organic product certification legislation on Chile organic exports. Food Policy, 29, 1–4.

Nie Z, Heerink N, Tu Q, Jin S. 2018. Does certified food production reduce agrochemical use in China? China Agricultural Economic Review, 10, 386–405.

Regmi A, Gehlhar M J, Wainio J, Vollrath T, Kathuria N. 2005. Market access for high-value foods. Electronic Report from the Economic Research Service, USDA/ERS Report, No. 840.

Shen G J, Chen B K, Yang R D. 2016. Can tax cuts boost China’s economy? - An empirical study based on China’s value-added tax reform. Economic Research Journal, 51, 70–82. (in Chinese)

Shi B Z, Shao W B. 2014. Quality measurement and determinants of Chinese enterprises’ export products - A microscopic perspective on cultivating new advantages in export competition. Journal of Management World, 252, 90–106. (in Chinese)

Suanin W. 2023. Processed food exports from developing countries: The effect of food safety compliance. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50, 743–770.

Sun D, Liu Y, Grant J, Long Y, Wang X, Xie C. 2021. Impact of food safety regulations on agricultural trade: Evidence from China’s import refusal data. Food Policy, 105, 102185.

Tran D, Goto D. 2019. Impacts of sustainability certification on farm income: Evidence from small-scale specialty green tea farmers in Vietnam. Food Policy, 83, 70–82.

Wang X, Zhou H, Su D. 2022. Does the internationalisation of China’s agri-food standards affect export quality upgrading?  - Evidence from firm-product-level data. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 66, 887– 911.

Wei G X, Huang J K, Yang J. 2012. Honey safety standards and its impacts on China’s honey export. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 11, 684–693.

Wei Y Y. 2023. The power of brands: Brand strength and corporate export resilience. Journal of Systems & Management, 32, 1313–1324. (in Chinese)

Xu B. 2010. The sophistication of exports: Is China special? China Economic Review, 21, 482–493.

Yang Y, Li E L. 2021. Theoretical framework and empirical analysis of the formation mechanism of green agricultural industrial cluster - Taking Shandong Shouguang vegetable industrial cluster as an example. Resources Science, 43, 69–81. (in Chinese)

Yang Z, Liu P, Luo L. 2023. Growing exports through ISO 9001 quality certification: Firm-level evidence from Chinese agri-food sectors. Food Policy, 117, 102455.

Yu X, Su Q, Gong Y Y, Li D M. 2021. A study on the spatial effect of agricultural product quality certification on agricultural economic growth. Science and Technology Management Research, 41, 93–99. (in Chinese)

Zeng H S, Xu J H. 2022. The impact of the implementation of the free trade area strategy on the quality of China’s export agricultural products: From the perspective of heterogeneity of the terms of the agreement. Chinese Rural Economy, 449, 127–144. (in Chinese)

Zheng Z H, Cheng S. 2021. Total factor productivity change in China’s grain production industry:1980–2018. Chinese Rural Economy, 7, 100–120. (in Chinese)

Zhou J H, Li K, Liang Q. 2015. Food safety controls in different governance structures in China’s vegetable and fruit industry. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 14, 2189–2202.

No related articles found!
No Suggested Reading articles found!