International heterogeneity of safety standards, importers' strategy and exclusion of producers in developing countries.

Summary The authors propose a model of international industrial economics to analyze the rationality underlying the strategic decisions of importers on international markets in the presence of food safety standards. More specifically, they analyze the effects of these strategies on the performance of export sectors in developing countries. They show how, given the heterogeneity of standards at the international level, importers strategically choose the destination market by adjusting their supply volumes to market opportunities and how these choices affect the participation rate of developing country (DC) producers. The authors also show how importers' strategies can be compatible or incompatible with the "general interest" of the developing country by evaluating the levels reached by several indicators: export volumes, value captured by local operators in the sector, exclusion rate of producers and income of participating producers.