Spanish agri-food trade during the second wave of globalisation, 1951-2011

Abstract

This study analyses the evolution of the agri-food trade during the time of greatest transformation of the Spanish economy, namely the second half of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first. This involves an examination of the evolution of Spanish agri-food exports and imports from 1951 to 2011, along with the corres­ponding trade balance. Similarly, it details changes in the composition of foreign purchases and sales for this type of products, as a reflection of the underlying economic changes. For exports, an econometric exercise is performed to evaluate their main defining factors in the Spanish case. The results indicate a greater diversification and transformation of the products traded. These changes are explained at the microeconomic level by the improvement of income and variations in preferences, and at a macroeconomic level by the powerful effect of the integration of Spain into the EEC in 1986 and the development of the agri-food industry due to an expanding domestic market (home market effect).