Agricultural Specific Trade Facilitation Indicators: An Overview

Trade facilitation matters. Estimates of trade friction costs from border and custom procedures are relatively high. Trade facilitation to allow for the speedy movement of traded goods may be more important for agricultural, especially perishable, products than for other goods because of their time sensitivity, especially for developing countries. Data suggest that many countries across the geographic and income spectrum have improved their performance on several trade facilitation variables. Concurrently, agricultural trade has grown substantially, especially from low and lower middle income countries. The data suggest that further improvements to trade facilitation in many low and lower middle income countries are needed for them to catch up with best practices. Impediments to trade remain, as indicated by the relatively high tariff equivalent of trade costs, especially on agricultural products.