Effects of Food Import and Source Diversification on Food Security

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of food import and source

diversification on the stability of food price. The paper shows that high import reliance is

helpful to reduce the price variability for banana, pineapple, tomato, spice, poultry meat,

wine, maize, and bovine meat, whereas there are some exceptions like cabbage. This means

that self-sufficiency for most of the foods is not good for the stability of price.

As for diversification of food import source, diversification is helpful to reduce the

variability of import price for banana, pineapple, tomato, spice, poultry meat, wine, apple,

grape, orange, tea, pig meat, tobacco, and cabbage. In addition, a country should diversify

more its import source in order to stabilize import price when it is importing food from

developing countries than when it is importing from developed ones. This is probably

because developed countries, with better infrastructure for agriculture, can maintain more

stable production and price.