Investigating the impact of maximum residue limit standards on the vegetable trade in Japan

Abstract

Countries have become increasingly concerned about the safety of their food. Many countries have imposed standards on both domestically produced and imported food. In particular, countries have implemented regulations to control the quantity and quality of vegetable imports. Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) standards are one of the main restrictions adopted by numerous countries. Japan has one of the strictest MRL standards in the world. This study builds on previous studies to explore the impact of MRL standards on Japanese vegetable imports. Gravity models are used to analyze how MRL standards influence the Japanese imports of different types of vegetables (fruit vegetables, leafy vegetables, bulb vegetable, and root vegetables). The results reveal that the trade impacts of MRL standards are different for different types of vegetables, with the most significant impact on imports of leafy and fruit vegetables and the least significant impact on imports of bulb vegetables.