Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 16 ISSUE 1
Written by Christian RITZEL, Andreas KOHLER, Stefan MANN

We analyse the Swiss import structure of the agricultural and food sector from developing countries (DCs) and least-developed countries (LDCs) which benefit from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). Between 2002 and 2011, 46% and 36% of the agricultural products from the DCs and LDCs, respectively, were imported under the GSP scheme. However, most of the agricultural products from DCs and LDCs entered Switzerland under a most favoured nations (MFN) of zero. The estimations of a gravity model underpin the findings of the descriptive analysis: Being simultaneously a member of the WTO and in the GSP scheme fosters agro-food imports from DCs and LDCs significantly. Furthermore, the productivity and supply capacity within the agricultural sector depicted by the agriculture gross domestic product of a trading partner has a strong and significant positive effect on imports.

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