Abstract:
【Objective/Meaning】The trade of agricultural products between the five island countries in the South Pacific(Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu)and the 15 countries in the European Union was analyzed in this paper, and the advantages and disadvantages of the agricultural product trade of the five island countries were found out, in order to promote the improvement of the international competitiveness of agricultural products of the island countries in the South Pacific.【Methods/Procedures】By using the UN Comtrade data and HS code, the scale and structure of agricultural trade between the five island countries in the South Pacific and the 15 countries in the European Union were described.By calculating the trade intensity index, revealed comparative advantage index and trade complementarity index, the trade characteristics of different categories of agricultural products between the five island countries and the 15 countries in the European Union by country were explored.【Results/Conclusions】The results showed that the overall agricultural product trade between the five island countries in the South Pacific and the 15 countries in the European Union was not closely linked, and the export comparative advantage was not obvious.The third and fourth categories of agricultural products between the five island countries and the 15 countries in the European Union were highly complementary.It was pointed out that the five island countries had some shortcomings such as insufficient production factors, single product production, and incomplete relevant and supporting industries.Therefore, the five island countries should learn from each other, seize the opportunity to deepen their development cooperation with the 15 countries in the European Union, and optimize the export structure by using their comparative advantages, so as to enhance their international competitiveness of agricultural products against the 15 countries in the European Union.