Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks
Global food production is facing increasing uncertainties under climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, provoking challenges and severe concerns to national food security. The role of global agricultural trade in bridging the imbalance between food supply and demand has come to the fore. Howeve...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/2/271 |
| _version_ | 1827625896749563904 |
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| author | Xiang Wang Libang Ma Simin Yan Xianfei Chen Anna Growe |
| author_facet | Xiang Wang Libang Ma Simin Yan Xianfei Chen Anna Growe |
| author_sort | Xiang Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Global food production is facing increasing uncertainties under climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, provoking challenges and severe concerns to national food security. The role of global agricultural trade in bridging the imbalance between food supply and demand has come to the fore. However, the impact of multifaceted and dynamic factors, such as trade policies, national relations, and epidemics, on the stability of the agricultural trade network (ATN) needs to be better addressed. Quantitatively, this study estimated grouping characteristics and network stability by analyzing the changing global ATN from 1986 to 2018. We found that the evolution of global agricultural trade communities has gone through four stages: the dominance of the US–Asian community, the rise of the European–African community, the formation of tri-pillar communities, and the development of a multipolar community with a more complex structure. Despite witnessing a progressive increase in the nodal stability of the global ATN during the decades, particular gaps can still be found in stability across countries. Specifically, the European community achieved stability of 0.49 and its trade relations were effectively secured. Meanwhile, the remaining leading communities’ stability shows a stable and upward trend, albeit with more significant challenges in trade relations among some of them. Therefore, how to guarantee the stability of trade relations and strengthen the global ATN to resist external shocks has become an essential question to safeguard global food security. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:45:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f3a6b0b40b743f79af3aaef44d530c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:45:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f3a6b0b40b743f79af3aaef44d530c12023-11-30T22:14:00ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582023-01-0112227110.3390/foods12020271Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade NetworksXiang Wang0Libang Ma1Simin Yan2Xianfei Chen3Anna Growe4College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaInstitute of Geography, Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyCollege of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaInstitute of Geography, Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyGlobal food production is facing increasing uncertainties under climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, provoking challenges and severe concerns to national food security. The role of global agricultural trade in bridging the imbalance between food supply and demand has come to the fore. However, the impact of multifaceted and dynamic factors, such as trade policies, national relations, and epidemics, on the stability of the agricultural trade network (ATN) needs to be better addressed. Quantitatively, this study estimated grouping characteristics and network stability by analyzing the changing global ATN from 1986 to 2018. We found that the evolution of global agricultural trade communities has gone through four stages: the dominance of the US–Asian community, the rise of the European–African community, the formation of tri-pillar communities, and the development of a multipolar community with a more complex structure. Despite witnessing a progressive increase in the nodal stability of the global ATN during the decades, particular gaps can still be found in stability across countries. Specifically, the European community achieved stability of 0.49 and its trade relations were effectively secured. Meanwhile, the remaining leading communities’ stability shows a stable and upward trend, albeit with more significant challenges in trade relations among some of them. Therefore, how to guarantee the stability of trade relations and strengthen the global ATN to resist external shocks has become an essential question to safeguard global food security.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/2/271economic integrationglobal agricultural tradecomplex networkcommunity divisionstabilityfood security |
| spellingShingle | Xiang Wang Libang Ma Simin Yan Xianfei Chen Anna Growe Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks Foods economic integration global agricultural trade complex network community division stability food security |
| title | Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks |
| title_full | Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks |
| title_fullStr | Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks |
| title_short | Trade for Food Security: The Stability of Global Agricultural Trade Networks |
| title_sort | trade for food security the stability of global agricultural trade networks |
| topic | economic integration global agricultural trade complex network community division stability food security |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/2/271 |
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