The intensity of agro-food trade between the countries of the Mediterranean basin

The Mediterranean has always been an area of strategic interest for the European Union (EU), since its establishment, has woven with his partners of the South and East of the Mediterranean a dense network of relationships, by signing agreements cooperation, first, and association, then. The study aims to present an evolutionary picture of the agro-food trade network between the countries of the EU's Mediterranean partners and his neighbours in North Africa and the Near East. Using specific indicators, widely used in the economic literature that analyse trade in sectors, however, different from the agro-food, to measure the intensity of the trade. In particular, the analysis by the application of bilateral trade indices according to Frankel and Rose (1997) and Traistaru (2004) showed, on the whole, a progressive weakening of the intensity of agro-food trade in the period 1996-2010. The analysis of indices of intensity of bilateral trade between the partners in the area, helped to identify the main factors that regulate the commercial relations, and in particular the historical and colonial relations, as in the case of France, and physical distance, which determines the phenomena of border trade. Conversely, the Association Agreements and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement signed between the EU on the one hand, and the Mediterranean partners, on the other, have played a marginal role in almost all trade in food products, distinguishing itself not a relation between the positive trend of the intensity of trade and the signing and entry into force of the agreements.