Maximum residue limits and agrifood exports of China: choosing the best estimation technique

摘要

The main aim of the article is to show the response of the Maximum Residue Limits adopted by importing countries on exports of the selected food commodities from China. The study estimates the gravity model using the Ordinary Least Squares, Poisson and the Negative Binomial Regression estimators. According to the results, the Maximum Residue Limits has a trade enhancing effect on exports of the selected food commodities from China. This trade enhancing impact may be due to the current government policies to put a cut on the food safety issues, to ensure safe food for all and adopting a protectionist policy in terms of the Maximum Residues Limits for the selected commodities.