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Following recent price spikes, food policy will continue to be of crucial concern to developing countries for the foreseeable future. Governments are trying to manage their food issues, but would need critical economic policy analysis to do so appropriately. The aim of this invaluable book is to present economy-wide but detailed information that will facilitate state-of-the-art economic agricultural policy analysis in the light of future threats, and stimulate the formation of better policies for Indonesia's, Vietnam's as well as other countries' longer-term visions of food security, productivity and social welfare. The scope of the book is comprehensive, analysing a range of key food security issues (self-sufficiency, stocks and industry development), policies and futures, with unified presentation of several key and captivating commodity case-studies (rice, livestock and dairy). This is achieved through state-of-the-art evidence-based economic policy analysis, drawing at times on a mix of Asian countries' relevant experiences and hence having broader relevance.

AbstractAustralian live cattle exports were a growing $1 billion trade from northern Australia to Indonesia for finishing and slaughter for Indonesian consumers. This all changed in recent years with the trade being disrupted by a series of constraints which have shrunk the trade and raised uncertainty. Will it ever get back on trend or continue to shrink and disappear? Greater integration between Australia's live cattle trade and Indonesia's cattle feeding and processing industries through investment and technological transfer offers the potential of not only better meeting Indonesia's beef security but also strong processed meat opportunities in rich neighbours to the benefit of both countries. A continuation of the recent volatile and uncertain trade will be detrimental to both countries, with Indonesia losing a food‐secure, reliable livestock supply to which value was added, and Australia a significant industry for one more dependent on costlier markets.

Poultry sectors' domestic support and trade protection, or assistance, influences the way they develop, in particular their structure, trade, investments, and aspects of disease risk. Nominal Rates of Assistance (NRAs) measuring adjusted gaps between international and domestic prices were used in analysis of relationships between these factors. Structural data took the form of average chickens per holding as well as the predominant FAO Sector (I Industrial - IV Traditional). General "bird flu" incidence was obtained from an official website. Assistance constrains efficient trade, encourages smuggling/informal trade, diminishing the incentives for good management, leading to greater disease risk. It also constrains efficient investment, leading to greater disease risk through weaker SPS, research and other relevant institutions. Assistance can also constrain structural change, hindering development of efficient industrial production systems, or maintaining larger traditional sectors, resulting in greater disease risks. The research illustrates that "true" (unassisted) exporters tended to have low NRAs and "true" importers high NRAs. Negligible trading countries mainly had low NRAs apart from those with strong self-sufficiency policies. Structurally, all countries experienced concentration with relative growth in industrial sector holdings. The NRA and structure scatter plot illustrated that the "true" exporters and "true" importers fell into two groups of mixed structures; low (high) NRAs, more (lower) market incentives and lower (higher) HPAI incidences. HPAI experiences also appeared to be regionally based. A clear conclusion is that assistance does not determine structure – some countries had strong enough political economy objectives to be willing to pay the high cost of over-riding open market forces on their structures. However, assistance did determine whether structures were distorted and not economically efficient. Technically efficient developed structures in conjunction with (export) market incentives driving economic efficiency and encouraging better risk management, appear to positively impact on HPAI risk. High assistance levels hinder open markets' role in the demise of inefficient, poorly managed productions systems, whether they be traditional or not, and creates greater disease risk.

Discussions in the WTO on Emergency Safeguards Measures (ESMs) for services are now stalemated. While possibly justified on political economy grounds if they resulted in WTO members making more liberal commitments, their main supporters (ASEAN minus Singapore) have not amply demonstrated their desirability or technical feasibility (legal and economic means). The GATS already has sufficient in-built flexibility, and several forms of de facto safeguard provisions and other measures exist. The economic case for ESMs is weak, and the efficiency costs from capture by protectionists and lost investment from restricting established foreign investors could be potentially large. The proposed ASEAN model essentially replicates the goods' ESM, and has a number of deficiencies, such as having no national interest or economic test. The paper suggests a number of ways that the ASEAN model could be improved if the case for ESM on services was accepted. It also examines, as an alternative to an ESM, the possibility of members introducing a waiver to temporarily withdraw services commitments should an emergency situation arise.

Discussions in the WTO on Emergency Safeguards Measures (ESMs) for services are now stalemated. While possibly justified on political economy grounds if they resulted in WTO members making more liberal commitments, their main supporters (ASEAN minus Singapore) have not amply demonstrated their desirability or technical feasibility (legal and economic means). The GATS already has sufficient in-built flexibility, and several forms of de facto safeguard provisions and other measures exist. The economic case for ESMs is weak, and the efficiency costs from capture by protectionists and lost investment from restricting established foreign investors could be potentially large. The proposed ASEAN model essentially replicates the goods' ESM, and has a number of deficiencies, such as having no national interest or economic test. The paper suggests a number of ways that the ASEAN model could be improved if the case for ESM on services was accepted. It also examines, as an alternative to an ESM, the possibility of members introducing a waiver to temporarily withdraw services commitments should an emergency situation arise.

Under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA) that came into effect on 1 January 1995, Japan pledged to convert non-tariff barriers into tariff equivalents for 28 commodities. The implementation of the Agreement on Agriculture triggered domestic policy reform. In July 1999 the Japanese Diet passed the Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, which replaced the Agricultural Basic Law of 1961. The new law outlines the direction and principles of Japanese agricultural policy for the 21st century and is more consistent with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. However, these measures represent only the start of agricultural reform. Where is Japanese agriculture headed and do these changes represent a significant movement toward real reform? Agricultural policymaking in Japan reflects political power struggles. Agriculture is a highly protected sector, and as in many other industrialised countries, protection has increased as agriculture's contribution to the economy has shrunk. Consumers – a larger and less politically organised group – tolerate agricultural protection as long as their incomes are rising, while agricultural producers are far smaller in number and lobby strongly as they have far more to lose. Pressure from foreign producers is a strong countervailing force against domestic interests that support agricultural protection, and explains why agriculture was one of the most important areas in the Uruguay Round negotiations.

In some ways food is unlike other commodities, as local tastes, delivery costs and quality are particularly significant issues for food producers. Food consumption has traditionally reflected local conditions, particularly the raw materials available in the region. For this reason it has been difficult to compare food industries in different countries. In recent years new farm and food technologies and cheaper international transport have increased trade in food products and reduced the importance of local conditions in determining consumption patterns. Large multinational food companies now trade food globally. Population growth and urbanisation have led to the need for mass production of food and mass transportation to urban areas. Technological progress has improved the quality of food and the speed with which it can be transported. Transportation networks have been expanded and new methods of food processing such as freeze-drying have been introduced. Japan's food industry has changed dramatically as a result. Processed food now accounts for two-thirds of food consumption in Japan, and up to 90 per cent if dining out and other food services are included. An increase in food imports has been one of the main factors driving the rise in processed food consumption. Until the early 1990s, most food imports were of ingredients for processing in Japan. To reduce costs, food processing firms started to relocate abroad as they built up knowledge of how to manage the labour force and the manufacturing process in foreign countries. Processed foods previously manufactured in Japan were then imported directly from overseas affiliates of Japanese multinationals. In addition barriers to trade and investment have been falling and consumer tastes have been diversifying, with Western foods becoming more popular. These trends have put pressure on local food manufacturers who had previously been protected from competition, forcing Japan's food industry into a period of transition. This paper provides an overview of Japan's processed food industry from primary production to retail sale. It discusses the features and the problems of the industry, and the key issues facing government, industry, producers and consumers. The industry is currently facing four types of change: shifts in demand, product or process innovations, changes in market position and policy changes. These four factors are closely related: for instance, consumer Pacific Economic Papers demand affects product and process innovation, and the diversification of industries. What will these changes mean for the food retailing and processing industry, and are they likely to introduce greater competition?

This collection of five papers constitutes the second of two volumes on Japanese agricultural policy. The first paper, by Masayoshi Honma, looks at agricultural policy reform in Japan from a political economy perspective, especially in respect of the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreement and the next round of negotiations. Ray Trewin then picks up the implications of East Asian approaches to food security for the next WTO round, mainly contrasting Japan's self-sufficiency approach with China's more open trade and investment policies. Regional arrangements to address food security are promoted in the paper. A paper by Malcolm Bosworth and Leanne Holmes develops and applies a framework for assessing the costs and benefits of Japan's sanitary and phytosanity (SPS) measures, especially in respect of the WTO SPS agreement. The implication for Japan's SPS policies are drawn out in the paper. Randy Stringer looks at the constraining role of land institutions and regulations, which are similar in East Asia, on structural adjustment, especially in agriculture, and the costs and benefits of such institutions and regulations. The final paper, by Yoshihisa Godo, explains, for the first time in English, the reasons behind the small size of Japanese farming that has constrained productivity, and the distortions in land use and farm output caused by farmland use regulations and taxation. Desirable directions for Japanese agricultural policy reform are also discussed in the paper. It is expected that this collection of papers will assist Australian and Japanese agencies and businesses, and those from other countries, to develop strategies for improving Japanese agricultural policies during the upcoming WTO round.