The economic prospects of Southeast Asia are increasingly intertwined with that of the People's Republic of China (PRC) through interdependencies from global value chains. For the riparian states of the Mekong region—Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Viet Nam, and Thailand, agricultural trade has been playing an increasingly important role in shaping this relationship. The recent disruptions to food and commodity markets has seen some countries in the region resort to non-tariff measures such as export controls, placing agricultural trade policies in the limelight.

Against this backdrop, the webinar will discuss the findings from a recent ISEAS publication entitled Agricultural Trade between China and the Greater Mekong Subregion Countries: A Value Chain Analysis. The approach taken involves detailed case studies of key agricultural export commodities in the Mekong countries destined primarily for the Chinese market. The analyses seek to identify specific impediments along the value chain and the non-tariff measures that interfere with cross-border trade. The webinar will provide an overview of all of the case studies and the policy issues that arise from them, and the detailed country case studies of Thailand (cassava and durian) and Viet Nam (dragon fruit and coffee).

Speakers

• Jayant Menon, Senior Fellow, ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute 
• Pham Minh Thai, Principal Researcher, Centre for Analysis and Forecasting, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences
• Punpreecha Bhuthong, Senior Researcher, International Economics and Development Policy Program, Thailand Development Research Institute  
• Maria Monica Wihardja, Visiting Fellow, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute
• Elyssa Kaur Ludher, Visiting Fellow, Climate Change for Southeast Asia, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute