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Abstract
This paper analyzes the European Union (EU) import demand for in-shell peanuts from
three sources: the United States, China, and the rest of the world. We find that peanuts
from different sources are differentiated by EU consumers. The expenditure elasticity is
elastic for U.S. in-shell peanuts, which is associated with their higher quality. The
conditional own price elasticities are more elastic for U.S. and Chinese in-shell peanuts.
These findings have at least two implications. First, U.S. producers and exporters should
direct efforts to ensure that in-shell peanuts exported to the EU are of the best possible
quality, and, second, promotion efforts should stress the quality of U.S peanuts as an
advertising tool.