Revealed comparative advantages and the role of price in soybean trade relation with China

Resumen

This article aims to identify the relationship between the price of soybeans exported to China and the competitive advantage of the main suppliers of this commodity to the Chinese market. To this end, data on soybean exports from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Uruguay, and Russia were analyzed between 2011 and 2021. In addition to obtaining the RCA Index, a panel data model was estimated. The results show that Brazil and the USA are the world's largest soybean exporters, and that Argentina, Russia, and Brazil are China's largest trading partners in soybean transactions, directing more than 70% of their exports, on average in the period, to the Asian country. Concerning the RCA, the South American countries stand out with the highest values for the historical series, and among the analyzed countries, only Russia presented a Revealed Comparative disadvantage. The estimated econometric model showed that the prices of soybeans exported to China are relevant to the behavior of the RCA Index of China’s trading partners, positively impacting the competitiveness of their trade relations.