journal article
Does bilateral trade in cereals within SADC reflect virtual trade in water between countries with different water endowments?
water international | 2023
Open Access
Citation
Matchaya, Greenwell; Garcia, Roberto J.; and Traoré, Fousseini. 2023. Does bilateral trade in cereals within SADC reflect virtual trade in water between countries with different water endowments? Water International 48(6): 759–782. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2023.2255822
This paper examines intraregional bilateral trade in virtual water embedded in cereal flows between the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) states. A gravity model is employed to examine whether annual bilateral trade depends on differences in water endowments, but also includes socio-economic and political determinants that affect trade. There is evidence that the abundance of water resources in a country influences trade for a product that is water dependent. Thus, the adverse effect of water scarcity in a country may be ameliorated by encouraging exports of water-intensive cereal crops where water is in abundance and imported where water is scarce.