Export Gap and Export Performance of Black Pepper in India under WTO Era

Abstract

The study area is mainly focused to explain production- export gap and export performance of Black Pepper in the WTO era. Black pepper, the ‘King of Spices’ is the most ancient and important spices exported from the ‘Home of Spices’ India. The implementation of WTO AoA on 1st January 1995 marked the beginning of a new era in agricultural trade policy. India opted for bound tariff rate of 108 per cent for black pepper but, the tariff rates of these crops significantly less than WTO bound rates and India reduced the levels of tariff rates unilaterally. By April 2001, India has removed all quantitative restrictions on imports and it again deteriorate already existing situation. In the WTO epoch, being a perennial crop black pepper faced year to year instability in export, export market of these crops could not attain any positive growth trend, and then also identified production- export gap became wide in these period. Thus, this study mainly focused to explain export gap constraints and its influence on export performance. Empirical studies using ANOVA model to observe the average growth trend of black pepper export in the pre, partial and post WTO epoch found that the trend of this crop is faced high level declining trend in the post WTO period. “Post- Hoc Range Test” and “Least Significance Difference (LSD)” methods were applied for identifying the multiple comparisons of different means. Then, “Mean- Plots” was used for graphically summarizing, the means of sub groups in this study. Factors constraining export of this crop in the WTO era from India were grouped under internal and external constraints. Empirical studies using Multiple Regression models identified that the export gap constraints harmfully influenced the export performance of black pepper exporters. In the WTO epoch, along with the normal cyclical challenges of this crop have been supplemented by other internal and external constraints and these constraints influenced export performance of exporters Thus, drawing from its findings, the study calls for more intense support and development is needed at proper time to the pepper exporters for efficient utilization of emerging market opportunities under WTO epoch and it requires enhancement of productivity, competitiveness and diversification/ value addition of these crops