The impact of integration with the European Union on the international competitiveness of the food processing industry in Estonia
Kuupäev
2011-05-17
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Abstrakt
Eesti toiduainetööstus on 1990ndate aastate algusest saadik tegutsenud vastuolulistes tingimustes. Ühelt poolt kaitsesid Eesti peamised kaubanduspartnerid oma turgu impordi eest, piirates Eesti toiduainetööstuse ekspordivõimalusi. Samal ajal tähendas Eesti üliliberaalne väliskaubanduspoliitika, et kodumaised tootjad pidid koduturul konkureerima importtoodanguga, mis oli tihti subsideeritud, andes seega importtoodangule (kunstliku) konkurentsieelise. Euroopa Liiduga (EL) ühinemine tõi endaga kaasa olulised muutused Eesti toiduainetetööstuse konkurentsivõimet mõjutavates majanduspoliitikates.
Käesoleva doktoritöö eesmärgiks oli hinnata, kuidas on EL-ga ühinemine mõjutanud Eesti toiduainetööstuse konkurentsivõimet. Töös keskenduti Eesti toiduainetööstuse kolme allharu — piimatööstuse, lihatööstuse ja kalatööstuse — konkurentsivõime uurimisele.
Töös seoti konkurentsivõime teoreetilised aspektid majandusintegratsiooni teooriaga, mille tulemusena loodi tööstusharu konkurentsivõime nn. filter-mudel, mis eristab potentsiaalset ja tegelikku konkurentsivõimet. Filter-mudeli kohaselt moodustavad valitsuste poliitikad, mis on kaubavahetust moonutava loomuga, n-ö. filtri, mis – otseselt või kaudselt – määrab, kas tööstusharu konkurentsivõime potentsiaal saab realiseeruda või võimaldab hoopiski muuta madala konkurentsipotentsiaaliga tööstusharu konkurentsivõimelisemaks. Sellest mudelist lähtuvalt hinnati töö empiirilises osas muutusi Eesti piima-, liha- ja kalatööstuse konkurentsivõimes ELiga ühinemise kontekstis.
Analüüsi tulemusena selgus, et Eesti piimatööstuse konkurentsivõime paranes ELiga ühinemise tulemusena, samas kui lihatööstus on liitumisest vaid osaliselt kasu saanud. Kalatööstuse konkurentsivõime aga vähenes liitumise tulemusena, mille üheks põhjuseks on Eesti ja Ukraina vahelise vabakaubanduslepingu kaotamine. Samuti võib järeldada, et kuigi formaalsed kaubanduspiirangud Eesti ja ELi vahel on kaotatud, eksisteerivad endiselt nn. nähtamatud piirangud. Selleks, et tagada ja tõsta konkurentsivõimet nii kodu- kui ka eksporditurgudel, peab Eesti toiduainetööstus senisest suuremat tähelepanu pöörama tootearendusele ning organisatsiooni- ja turundusalastele innovatsioonidele.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Estonian food industry has been operating in rather exceptional and controversial economic conditions. The export opportunities of the Estonian food processing industry were often limited because their trading partners protected their markets with import tariffs and quotas. On the domestic market, as a result of Estonia’s highly liberal trade policy, Estonian food producers have had to face fierce competition from importers. A solution to this problem was expected to be accession to the EU and the accompanying change in the competition environment created by the economic policy. The aim of this dissertation was to assess how accession to the EU has influenced the competitiveness of the food processing industry in Estonia. The deeper analysis of the sub-sectors of the food industry concentrated on meat, fish and dairy processing. The dissertation combined the concept of the competitiveness of an industry and the theory of regional integration to assess the impact of joining an economic union on the competitiveness of an industry. A “filter” model of industry competitiveness was developed, which distinguishes between competitiveness potential and competitiveness performance, and considers trade-distorting government policies as a “filter”, which determines whether competitiveness potential will materialise into actual competitiveness performance or not, or whether they can help industries not possessing competitive potential to achieve competitiveness. In the empirical part of the dissertation, the impact of EU accession on the competitiveness of the Estonian food processing industry was assessed based on the “filter” model. The main results indicated that the competitiveness of the Estonian milk industry has indeed increased as a result of accession to the EU while the meat industry has not been able to fully benefit from accession. The fish industry, on the other hand, has clearly lost its competitiveness as a result of accession to the EU, not least due to the abolition of the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine. In addition, even though formal trade barriers between Estonia and the EU have been dismantled, invisible barriers to trade remain. In order to ensure success on export markets as well as the domestic market, Estonian food industry has to improve the quality of products as well as increase organisational and marketing innovations.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Estonian food industry has been operating in rather exceptional and controversial economic conditions. The export opportunities of the Estonian food processing industry were often limited because their trading partners protected their markets with import tariffs and quotas. On the domestic market, as a result of Estonia’s highly liberal trade policy, Estonian food producers have had to face fierce competition from importers. A solution to this problem was expected to be accession to the EU and the accompanying change in the competition environment created by the economic policy. The aim of this dissertation was to assess how accession to the EU has influenced the competitiveness of the food processing industry in Estonia. The deeper analysis of the sub-sectors of the food industry concentrated on meat, fish and dairy processing. The dissertation combined the concept of the competitiveness of an industry and the theory of regional integration to assess the impact of joining an economic union on the competitiveness of an industry. A “filter” model of industry competitiveness was developed, which distinguishes between competitiveness potential and competitiveness performance, and considers trade-distorting government policies as a “filter”, which determines whether competitiveness potential will materialise into actual competitiveness performance or not, or whether they can help industries not possessing competitive potential to achieve competitiveness. In the empirical part of the dissertation, the impact of EU accession on the competitiveness of the Estonian food processing industry was assessed based on the “filter” model. The main results indicated that the competitiveness of the Estonian milk industry has indeed increased as a result of accession to the EU while the meat industry has not been able to fully benefit from accession. The fish industry, on the other hand, has clearly lost its competitiveness as a result of accession to the EU, not least due to the abolition of the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine. In addition, even though formal trade barriers between Estonia and the EU have been dismantled, invisible barriers to trade remain. In order to ensure success on export markets as well as the domestic market, Estonian food industry has to improve the quality of products as well as increase organisational and marketing innovations.
Kirjeldus
Märksõnad
dissertatsioonid, Euroopa Liit, Eesti, liitumine, Toiduainetööstus, konkurentsivõime, majandusintegratsioon, EL maad, konkurenstipoliitika, väliskaubanduspoliitika, European Union, Estonia, accession, food industry, regional integration, EU countries, competitiveness, foreign trade policy