About the EUMERCOPOL project

Project summary
This EUMercoPol proposal aims to generate solid scientific contributions supporting the formulation and implementation of Community policies. The proposal’s three principal objectives are:

• Analysing the competitiveness of key agri-food sectors in the Mercosur region (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia), vis-à-vis the EU commodity systems..
• Assessment agri-food policies in the context of production, consumption and trade environments, between the Mercosur and EU.
• Analysing the ex-ante impact of liberalized trade between the EU and Mercosur on markets, budgets, and key indicators of their agricultural sectors.
Direct results to be obtained
• Databases, working papers, briefs and scientific publications diffusing new results on the competitiveness of key agri-food sectors in Mercosur and EU.
• Databases, papers, policy briefs, and publications on the agriculture policies in the Mercosur and EU.
• Databases, working papers, policy briefs and publications diffusing new information on the ex-ante impacts from EU-Mercosur trade liberalization, on EU and Mercosur priority parameters.
• New and expanded econometric trade and impact models, for further valorisation in EU policy research.

Specific objectives
1. Systematic analysis, country by country, of Mercosur agricultures (production, production potential and their cost/benefit positions vis-à-vis the corresponding commodities and agriculture sectors in the EU countries.
The same methodology will be used to study each country to allow the possibility of comparisons. Focus on the agricultural products for which these regions have comparative advantages of production or considerable production potential: Cereals (rice, wheat, maize), soybean, beef, sugar (cane), poultry meat, fruit (apples, orange-juice) as well as dairy products.

2. Assessment of direct and indirect agri-food policies in the context of production, consumption and trade environments, between the Mercosur and EU regions. To compare agricultures and agricultural and food policies in Mercosur and Mediterannean countries against the background of production, consumption and trade patterns. The aim is to evaluate the potential synergies and/or overlapping of the future trade relations of these countries with the EU.

3. Analysing the ex-ante impact of liberalized trade between the EU and the Mercosur countries on markets, budgets, and key indicators of their agricultural sectors (production, input use, economic, social and environmental indicators).

Analyses of the consequences of trade liberalisation, providing a commodity-specific analysis focusing on agricultural markets and budget impacts, taking into account supply dynamics and the production potential of the following products: cereals and oilseeds, beef, poultry, fruits (apples, frozen concentrated orange juice), sugar, and rice

Key numbers

• 36 months project cycle
• 167 person months of human resources
• 11 partners
• 9 countries
• 10 commodities selected
• 8 work-packages
• 1.069.020 € of total EC grant

Context

• EU is the second largest economic trading partner of Latin America and most important of MERCOSUR and Chile.
• Ongoing free trade negotiations face the challenge of agricultural products because of their impact in domestic economics in economic and social terms.
• Ex ante impact can benefit the negotiation process by simulating complementation / overlapping between trade blocks.

Work plan

In order to achieve the projects objective and expected products 8 work packages are proposed:
• Project management: (WP1)
• Construction of Mercosur agri food system databases (WP2)
• EU-Mercosur agri-food policy analysis (WP3)
• Comparison of EU – Mercosur agri food systems (WP4)
• Dynamic Mercosur commodity models (WP5)
• Modification of CAPRI trade model (WP6)
• EU and Mercosur impact assessment of trade liberalization (WP7)
• Project outputs’ valorization and dissemination (WP8)

Click on the box bellow to access more detailed information on the Work Package.