PATTERNS OF AGRI-FOOD INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE BETWEEN CZECHIA AND EU MEMBER STATES: TWO DECADES OF THE EU MEMBERSHIP

The article assesses the dynamic of Czechia’s agri-food intra-industry trade (IIT) with other EU countries. Methods such as Grubel-Lloyd index, Greenaway, Hine and Milner method, and Fontagné and Freudenberg method were applied using EUROSTAT bilateral trade data at 6-digit HS code from 1999 to 2022. Although the inter-industry trade still prevails in the structure of Czechia’s agri-food trade, the IIT intensity has increased. Nonetheless, the increase started to slow down and stopped in the last decade. The IIT is mostly vertical in nature and significant variations across specific agri-food sectors exist. Increased intensity of IIT indicates potentially positive welfare effects when compared to inter-industry trade and advocates the integration into the economic structures of the Single European Market. Findings inform policymakers in countries aspiring to EU membership when assessing the potential nature of the trade dynamic during participation in the Single European Market.