Several factors were instrumental in ensuring global agricultural trade was relatively unaffected by the recent global financial crisis, according to a market intelligence organization. 

A representative of London-based Euromonitor International said despite the fact many other industries struggled to stay afloat following the 2008 credit crunch, agricultural export volumes continued their upward trend.

Euromonitor consultant Marta Barriga is due to speak at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fruittrade Latin America event, which will be held in Chile on Nov. 12-13, where she will discuss and analyze the global produce industry's 'resilience' in the face of economic woes and the key drivers of growth.

"When the crisis began a lot of agricultural exports slowed down a little bit, but in 2010 they had completely recuperated and then they actually started to increase," Barriga told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"One reason for this, for example, was the increase in preferential trade agreements, or PTAs, which can really prop up exports."

A PTA facilitates trade of certain products by reducing tariffs without abolishing them completely, and is usually established through a trade pact. It is considered to be the first stage of economic integration and generally has the ultimate goal of becoming a free trade agreement (FTA).

The soaring worldwide population was another factor Barriga cited as supporting the global industry

"The number of people in the world has been growing rapidly. This has especially been the case in developing countries, and it has been a huge driver of growth simply because if there are more and more people who need to eat there will be more demand," she explained.

And not only is the world's population growing, but its spending power is on the up as well.

"As an example of this, Euromonitor has data on how between 2011 and 2020 the purchasing power of people in Latin America is expected to increase by about 50%, at the consumer level," Barriga said.

"All these factors are organic, in the sense that they're independent to financial crises or meltdowns in any part of the world. It's the basic structure of the population that is causing exports to continue growing thanks to the increased level of demand, and of course this means higher levels of production."

Barriga is due to discuss these factors, amongst others, in greater detail at PMA Fruittrade, which she said was a 'great opportunity' for a company like hers.

"It's great because we can explain to people in person all the different types of research that we're currently doing - we cover more than 25 different industries in over 80 countries," she said.

"It's also a good opportunity to get to know different producers, difference retailers, as well as scientists involved in certain fields that we're doing research into, and so for that reason it's great to be part of this event."

Euromonitor offers market research solutions that it says support strategic planning for agricultural companies in an increasingly internationalized world. It is based in the U.K., but it has regional offices in cities throughout the world including Chicago, Santiago, Tokyo, Dubai, and Sydney, and a global network of over 800 analysts.

Photo: Wikimedia Creative Commons

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