Study on Market Structure and Global Trade of Chickpea

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor. Agricultural Planning, Economic and Rural Development Research Institute. Tehran. Iran.

2 Agriculture and Food Policies Research Department. Agricultural Planning, Economic and Rural Development Research Institute. Tehran.Iran.

10.22092/idaj.2023.363183.407

Abstract

Introduction:
About 98% of chickpea cultivation is dry-land in Iran. This subject indicating the importance of producing this product according to water scarcity in this country. While in 2021, the production of chick peas were 172.8 thousand tons and, 107 thousand tons of chickpeas with value of 95.8 million dollars were imported. Compared to 2019, the import volume of chickpea has increased by 66.5% and the import value has increased by 88.5%. In other hands, the trade balance of chickpeas in 2021 was negative. In the conditions of exchange limitation, the volume and value of agricultural products imports becomes a challenge. Discovering major exporter countries can help both exporters and importers of chickpeas to planning for contribution in global markets. On the other hand, determining the global market structure helps to design and implement trade strategies with a lower cost.
Materials and Methods:
This study is documentary method, and the data and information were derived from FAO statistical database, International Trade Center (ITC) database. Data analysis and trends during 2017-2021 was done. In order to identify the structure and determine the market power, concentration ratio and Herfindahl indices have been used. These indicators help to identify the market power. When a group of market firms have higher bargaining power compared to others, market power is appeared.
Research findings:
In 2021, more than 2.3 million tons chick peas with value of 1.45 billion dollars have been traded in the world. More than 15% of the world import was related to Bangladesh. After that, India, Turkey and Iran have the next ranks. The volume of chickpea imports by Iran has increased by 89% compared to 2020 with import of 107 thousand tons in 2021. Also, the share of Iran from global imports of chick peas reaches 6.6%. While in 2017, the structure of the global chickpea market was a monopoly with a dominant country (Australia), this structure has changed to a closed multilateral monopoly (Australia, Russia, Turkey and Canada) in 2021. Turkey and Russia being the major exporters of chickpeas, and this subject, brings an opportunity to joint trade agreements or importers of chickpeas at a cheaper price.

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