Iran’s export competitiveness in a concentrated global apple market: Evidence from market structure and constant market share analysis

چکیده مقاله

Purpose – This study examines the structure of the global apple export market, evaluates the competitiveness of major exporters with particular emphasis on Iran and identifies the main drivers of changes in Iran’s export performance using a constant market share (CMS) framework.

 

Design/methodology/approach – Market concentration measures (CR and HHI), competitiveness indicators (RSCA and trade competitiveness) and CMS decomposition were applied to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) for 2004–2024.

 

Findings – The global apple export market exhibits a stable intermediate oligopolistic structure dominated by a small number of exporters. Although Iran maintains a relatively strong comparative advantage and positive trade competitiveness, its exports remain highly concentrated in a few regional destinations, particularly Iraq. CMS results show that export growth during 2005–2010 was driven mainly by market expansion, whereas competitive and interaction effects became increasingly important after 2015, indicating a growing role for market positioning and destination-specific dynamics.

 

Research limitations/implications – The analysis focuses on trade-based competitiveness indicators and does not explicitly consider factors such as trade sanctions, exchange-rate fluctuations, transportation costs or firmlevel behavior.