REVEALED COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE : PRODUCTS MAPPING OF THE RUSSIAN AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS IN RELATION TO INDIVIDUAL REGIONS

Abstract

This paper studies specialization and competitive performance of the Russian agricultural sector through analysis of "revealed" comparative advantage of country's agricultural and food exports over the period 1998-2010. The aim of this analysis is to identify the main segments of the Russian agricultural export from the two points of view: international competitiveness and country's trade balance. For the purpose of detailed analysis all commodities exported and imported by the Russian Federation can be divided into separate groups according to two parameters: the revealed comparative advantage (RSCA index by Dalum et al. [1998] and Laursen [1998]) and domestic trade-balance (trade balance index by Lafay [1992]). This analytical tool is named "products mapping". In accordance with this methodology, we distinguished four groups of products. In the first group products have a comparative advantage and positive trade balance (5% of the exported goods, about 50% of the value of total agricultural exports). There was also identified an opposite group: all items have comparative disadvantage and negative trade balance (80% of items account for only about 30% of total exports, but 95-99% of the total imports). Further we identified one controversial group where products have comparative disadvantages, but have a positive trade balance. In most cases the products have comparative advantages in relations to the CIS, EU or Asian countries, while trade in these products in relation to countries located in Africa and Americas in most cases does not exist.