Assessing the Market Integration of Domestically Produced and Imported Aquaculture Products in the US

Project Description

This study assesses the market integration of domestically produced and imported catfish products in the United States. In 2003, the US adopted legislation that established anti-dumping tariffs for Vietnamese catfish products entering the country. One goal of this analysis is to determine how these tariffs have impacted the relationship between foreign and domestically produced catfish products. Co-integration tests confirm the existence of a long-run price relationship between domestic and imported catfish products, which has persisted despite the legislative change. This finding enables the estimation of vector error correction models to describe this price relationship in the periods before and after import tariffs went into effect.

Results and Accomplishments

Results from these models suggest that Vietnamese catfish fillet prices do not significantly influence or react to domestic catfish prices. However, the price of catfish fillets imported from countries other than Vietnam has continued to respond to domestic prices, and to influence the prices received by domestic catfish farmers and processors. Researchers will utilize the models developed through this project to measure the impact of imported products on Maine aquaculture efforts.

Summary of Data Being Collected

Data	Type	Quantity	Location
Catfish prices	Price	27 years of monthly observations	NOAA through NMFS website (publically available data)