Some consumers and environmentalists espouse purchasing food that is produced locally or nationally. An appealing expression of this is the "food miles" concept, which reflects the aim of minimizing the distance food has traveled before reaching the consumer. The concept of food miles is flawed...

Rapid trade-led economic growth in emerging Asia has been shifting the global economic and industrial centres of gravity away from the north Atlantic, raising the importance of Asia in world trade but also altering the commodity composition of trade by Asia and other regions. What began with...

Agricultural trade is vitally important for achieving the goal of ending hunger by 2030 enshrined in the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). While trade is frequently seen as posing threats to this vitally important goal, it can in fact play a major role in achieving it. Trade helps in a...

Several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) suggest that improving well-being is achievable through trade. The free flow of goods and services internationally, which encourages efficient production and expansion of consumption, may support SDGs concerning inclusive and sustainable...

Regional economic integration is back in vogue following the "stumble" in the Doha Round in July 2008. Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are driving this trend in Asia and the Pacific as well as in Central and South America, and the sheer volume of PTAs is striking. In the 1990s there were...

A strong small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector can contribute much to a country's economy by fostering innovation, creating jobs, and reducing poverty. This paper examines the status of SME finance in Georgia and the involvement of Georgian SMEs in global value chains. The role of SMEs...

Developing countries have seen a rapid rise in population urbanization in the past decades. At the same time, they have participated actively in the process of globalization. However, possible interlinks between population urbanization and trade openness in developing economies have been ignored...

One of the institutions involved in coffee value chain in Indonesia is the cooperative. We compare the experience of two cooperatives in exporting coffee beans. The Margamulya Coffee Producer Cooperative currently exports coffee beans directly and through an exporter, while the Mitra Malabar...

This paper analyzes the situation of SMEs in Mongolia, especially their financial situation and financing mechanisms, the business environment, the existing policies, and value chain analysis, and makes suggestions for enhancing their development. Value chains that have their potential developed...

The increasing number of food safety problems occurring worldwide in recent years has heightened consumers' food safety awareness and has caused public distrust of the increasingly complex and globalized food production and trading system. Establishing a food traceability system could improve...