Research on the export competitiveness of aquatic products and its influencing factors: A case study of Guangdong Province in China

Guangdong Province is a major producer of aquatic products in China, but its export has been lack of competitiveness. Based on data of aquatic products in Guangdong Province from 2009 to 2020, this paper analyzes the export competitiveness and influencing factors of aquatic products in Guangdong Province using an extended gravitational model and result show that production factor input and high-quality production management are the core factors to enhance the export competitiveness of aquatic products. The geographical distance of importing countries and GDP per capita have a significant positive impact; The impact of the fisheries industry and construction industry is significantly positive; Whether the exporting country is an APEC has a significant negative impact, indicating that the previous trade agreements have no effect on the improvement of the export competitiveness of aquatic products in Guangdong Province over time. It has no significant impact on fish breeding area, the number of processing enterprises above designated size and the openness of foreign trade. Reducing the density of aquaculture, increasing innovation, strengthening the supervision of aquatic products and improving the supporting facilities of related industries are important measures to improve the export competitiveness of aquatic products in Guangdong Province.