Comparison of the Export Competitiveness of Limes from Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil to the European Union

Objective: To determine the competitiveness in the world and in the European Union of the main Latin lime-producing countries through the calculation of the normalized revealed comparative advantage to generate a discussion around the use of the free trade agreement that the countries have with the European Union. Design/Methodology/Approach: Official sources were used to obtain the information in the period from 2001 to 2021, the normalized revealed comparative advantage was calculated and the behavior in the global market and in the European Union was forecasted. The Prais-Wisten method was used for the correction of autocorrelation. Results: Competitiveness was estimated through the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage Index, both globally and in the European Union, for the main Latin American limes producers. Study limitations/implications: The limitation of the study was that it was only compared with Latin American countries, the study could expand its comparison with other regions of the world. Findings/Conclusions: The main Latin American lime producers were compared using the NRCA. Mexico has maintained a competitive advantage since 2003, while Argentina lost it in 2004. Brazil became competitive in 2021, while Colombia is not. Argentina has the biggest advantage, although declining, and Brazil has surpassed Mexico since 2019. Projections show that Mexico and Brazil will continue to improve their competitiveness, while Argentina will reduce it. The concentration of production in Mexico is an opportunity for other regions with similar conditions to increase production and export to the European market. The proposed hypothesis is accepted