Processed food exports from developing countries: the effect of food safety compliance

Abstract The study investigates the impact of developing countries’ ability to comply with international food safety standards on processed food exports, based on the structural gravity modelling framework and a novel dataset from 2002 to 2018. The constructed variable on international food safety compliance is derived from import refusal records from the US Food and Drug Administration. The findings indicate that international food safety compliance is a significant factor in explaining inter-country differences in processed food export performance. The ability to meet international food safety standards matters for processed food exports from developing Asia to developing country markets and the USA, but it has a limited influence on Asian processed food exports to the European Union.