Arab intra- trade and the impact of political changes in some Arab countries on the trade exchange of some agricultural food commodities

Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research ISSN 2077-4605 Volume : 07 Issue : 04 Oct.-Dec. 2018 Pages:1359-1380 Arab intra- trade and the impact of political changes in some Arab countries on the trade exchange of some agricultural food commodities Ahlam A. Hassan Agricultural Economics Department, Agricultural and Biological Division, National Research Centre, 33 EL Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt, Postal Code: 12622. Received: 25 Sept. 2018 / Accepted 30 Oct. 2018 / Publication date: 15 Nov. 2018 ABSTRACT The success and efficiency of foreign trade and achieving surplus goal of each country, because the purpose of agriculture, and industry and even other sectors are trade, and the efficiency of trade reflected not only on the national economy, but also on the individual economy, and thus on the standard of living of individuals in this country, and the rise of people's livelihood, and achieve the satisfaction of living In the society, many social problems and negative phenomena are prevented, provided that justice is achieved in the distribution of income. One of the reasons for the Arab revolutions that occurred alongside the political reasons is the high rate of poverty, and unemployment in society for Tunisia, Egypt and Syria. The lack of justice in the distribution of wealth of the state and the large disparity between the classes of society is one of the most important reasons for the revolution in Libya. So the problem of the study was the weakness of intra-arab trade, Therefore, The study was aimed to identify the current status of foreign trade in some Arab countries, especially countries where political changes have occurred, though some indicators that reflect their foreign trade status, and efficiency such as economic coverage, dependence, trade balance (deficit or surplus), intra-trade and trade compatibility, through Statistical data published on the website of the Arab Organization, FAO and the United Nations. The study showed a decline in the gross domestic product of most of the country. This decline is an indicator and evidence of the low standard of living of the members in these countries, The increase in the deficit in the trade balance of most of the studied countries, and the increase in this deficit during the two study periods in particular countries that have undergone political changes, except for Libya, which achieved 25 billion surplus in the first period decreased to 7 billion in the second period, The low economic coverage of most countries, the rise in the economic dependency indicator, and the low economic participation rate, with the exception of some countries such as the UAE and Qatar. The intra-oic trade between these countries is not commensurate with the privileges and resources available in these countries, although the percentage of opportunities for integration is large. These ratios are small, The highest percentage was achieved in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt at (8.1%, 7.99% and 3%, ) respectively, and a minimum of zero in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya during the first period, And in the second period has seen a decline in this ratio in all countries, this indicates the increased opportunities for possible or available for integration, that the countries where the proportion of intra-exports to the total exports is the highest in the proportion of opportunities for integration and vice versa, The percentage of opportunities for integration was highest in Qatar 100% and lowest in Sudan 53% in the first period. But in the second period, it was in Saudi Arabia and Qatar 100% and 98% in Tunisia. Therefore, the study recommends increasing the percentage of intra-arab trade for many considerations including strengthening the Arab economy, Arab relations, and Arab food security. Keywords: Arab intra- trade, GDP, Arab Foreign Trade. Introduction Egypt's foreign policy aims to develop economic relations with various countries of the world, as well as opening wide horizons for international and regional cooperation on the basis of mutual interests. In this context, Egypt joined the World Trade Organization, The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA), Participation in the 15 Developing Countries Group, The Group of Eight Islamic Countries, as well as a partnership agreement with the United States of Corresponding Author: Ahlam A. Hassan, Agricultural Economics Department, Agricultural and Biological Division, National Research Centre, 33 EL Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt, Postal Code: 12622. E-mail: dr.ahlam_nrc@hotmail.com 1359

America, and cooperation agreements with some Asian countries such as China, Japan and South Korea. Research problem: Despite the strong relations, geographical dimension, In addition to the various economic and trade agreements, and other considerations such as the unity of language and religion among the Arab countries, but the size of interaction and cooperation and trade between these countries is very small does not fit with these many advantages, and in recent period there have been political changes in the world these changes included Some Arab countries as (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen), These political changes have led to economic and social changes. The Trade exchange among the Arab countries is not based on comparative advantage, price, competitiveness and economic criteria only in trade among the Arab countries, but it has other criteria related to the political trends of the state. Research Objective: Study economic and trade relations among (Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar), Which has political positions and relative economic importance before and after these political changes, and also there are countries between them and Egypt bilateral trade agreements, The objective is to know whether these agreements have positive or negative effects or have no effect on Egyptian agricultural trade, and measuring these effects is found in comparison to some agricultural Food products trade to study the direction of trade exchange, and to assess the impact of these changes on the trade balance of these countries, and trade exchange between them, and whether it is in the interest of the trade balance of these countries during the period 2008-2015, and study the economic structure of Arab intraagricultural trade,and the relative importance of agricultural trade among that countries. Methodology and Data Source: The study used the economic descriptive analysis method, in addition to some standard methods of some indicators of foreign trade efficiency, such as index of the average inclination of import and export, coverage rate, dependency rate, a degree of economic participation and integration opportunities. The study relied on published secondary data published by the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Data published on FAO's website, and statistical data published on the UN website. First: The main features of Egypt's economy and some Arab countries Study period (2008-2011), (2012-2015) National Income and Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Table (1) shows the total national income of some countries is higher than GDP, such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt, where the total national income amounted to about 288, 483, 136 and 179 billion pounds respectively during the first period (2008-2011). The gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries for the same period reached 284.5, 474.45, 126.67 and 176.41 billion pounds respectively, and the increase in national income from GDP means that these countries have investments abroad, so their income is a return to these countries. In contrast, the investments of these countries from abroad are low. Consequently, their GDP is low, because the basis for calculating the GDP is that the production was done with locally available resources inside the country during a certain period of time, but the national income is calculated on the basis of locally owned resources, regardless of the place where the product was made. Therefore, the income generated by the investment of its resources outside the country within a given period of time is calculated from the following equation: (national income = GDP + value inflows of non-resident - outflows of non-resident), Thus, there are countries in which there are large foreign investments on their land and do not have investments abroad, which leads to an increase in the GDP and does not add to the national income. According to this index, other countries that increase the value of national income from GDP are characterized by investments 1360

abroad, their income return to these countries. However, in the second period 2012-2015, the same countries have increased the value of national income and GDP to the same level for the UAE, but for other countries similar in the economic pattern the difference has decreased, and other countries with a different economic pattern and the higher the value of GDP than national income increased Of national income and domestic output, but the difference has declined, and the increase in GDP is an indicator and evidence of the high standard of living in the country, However, But countries, where political changes have occurred such as Tunisia, Libya and Syria, national income and domestic output, increased slightly in the second period. But in Libya, it decreased by 73.17% in the second period, and Syria decreased in the second period by 71.7 %. The agricultural GDP of these countries Table (1) shows that agricultural GDP ranged between the upper limit and achieved in Egypt with a value of (22.62 and 20.93) billion respectively in the two periods mentioned above and the minimum achievement in Qatar (0.13, 0.18) ) For the same period. In general, the value of the agricultural output of all countries increased in both periods. For countries where political changes have occurred such as Tunisia, Libya, and Syria, where agricultural output declined during the two periods for Tunisia 56%, Libya decreased agricultural output by 85%, and Syria agricultural output fell by 71.5% from the first period before the political changes. per capita of GDP and agricultural output: Table (2) shows the per capita of gross domestic product (GDP) and the agricultural output of all countries in general increased during the two periods, but only slightly as a result of the increase in the population in these countries during that study period, Except Syria, the per capita of GDP declined in the second period after the events by 65.38% compared to the previous period, Libya also decreased in the second period during the events by 52% from the previous period, Egypt and Tunisia by 115% and 3%. Second: Arab Foreign Trade Value of exports, and trade balance of the Arab countries under study Table (3) shows the increase in and exports of these countries by a small percentage, but the percentage of increase in exports is less than. Thus, the deficit in the trade balance during the two periods except the countries that have undergone political changes (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen) The balance of trade during the second period was (129%, 981%, 33% and 177%) for Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Yemen, respectively, as a result of the decrease in exports, except for Libya. It was decreased in the second period to 8.2 billion, a decrease of about 31.66% for the first period. The value of agricultural and food exports, and the relative importance of the studied countries for the total Arab countries : The total exports of the countries studied constitute 96.31% of the total exports of the Arab countries as shown in Table (4) The agricultural exports of the studied countries constitute about 84.88 %, 81.17% ) for the two periods respectively of the total food exports to the Arab countries, The food exports of these countries constitute about 87.35% and 81% respectively for the two periods of total food exports to the Arab countries, Also agricultural exports declined during the two periods for all countries, including countries where political changes have, but the rate of decline of these countries is higher than other stable countries. And the percentage of total exports decreased during the two periods. On the other hand, in terms of food exports, the percentage of agricultural exports increased for all countries during the two periods. The value of agricultural and food and the relative importance of the studied countries for the total Arab world: Its Imports constitute about 95.27% of the of the Arab world. The agricultural of the countries studied constitute 87.18%, 95.74% respectively of the total Arab agricultural. Food accounted for about 83.9% and 90.06% for the two consecutive periods of total food to the Arab countries, as shown in Table (5). It also shows that agricultural generally increased during the two periods for all countries, including the countries where political changes occurred, and the percentage of total of these countries increased, while the other stable countries decreased the proportion of total agricultural during the two periods. For food have raised in value to all countries in general and especially countries that have undergone political changes, reaching 100% of their agricultural. This is a characteristic of developing 1361

Table 1: Total Value of National Income, Gross Domestic Product and Agricultural Product of the studied Arab Countries during the period (2008-2011) (2012-2015). Country Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 Total National Income Total Domestic Product Agricultural Total Domestic Product Total National Income Total Domestic Product Agricultural Total Domestic Product Jordan 23.5 22.9 0.589 31.86 32.27 0.928 United Arab Emirates 288.02 284.51 2.619 387.65 387.33 2.62 Tunisia 41.85 44.16 3.598 40.78 40.01 3.03 Algeria 152.91 154.11 12.042 205.67 208.3 19.42 Saudi Arabia 483.35 474.45 12.145 746.7 741.2 13.53 Sudan 59.24 53.57 22.621 55.42 65.11 21.58 Syria 52.29 53.33 110.96 37.55 38.33 79.39 Qatar 98.45 106.53 0.132 183.67 196.2 0.184 Kuwait 135.51 126.67 0.256 187.37 174.94 0.622 Libya 82.06 82.08 1.869 74.69 80.2 1.016 Egypt 178.95 176.41 22.626 155.11 157.67 20.928 Morocco 87.96 89.89 12.494 96.83 99.87 14.287 Yemen 27.98 29.43 3.31 22.04 20.39 2.93 Source: Calculated and collected from the UN Foreign Trade Database (UN Comtrade) - http://comtrade.un.org. Table 2: Population, Per capita of Gross domestic, and per capita of agricultural product of the studied Arab countries during the period (2008-2011) (2012-2015) (Per capita per ) Population (per million inhabitants) Per capita of Gross domestic product per capita of agricultural product Country Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 Jordan 6.05 7.14 3.785 4.5161 0.097 0.13 United Arab Emirates 7.26 9.28 39.626 41.7465 0.361 0.282 Tunisia 10.45 10.94 4.225 4.2068 0.344 0.31 Algeria 36 38.84 4.279 5.3628 0.334 0 Saudi Arabia 26.58 28.56 17.864 25.9539 0.457 0.474 Sudan 43.77 48.65 1.404 1.4154 0.517 0.444 Syria 20.69 21.89 2.578 1.7508 5.363 3.626 Qatar 1.46 2.11 73.67 92.9923 0.09 0.087 Kuwait 1.43 3.31 45.86 52.8708 0.18 0.188 Libya 5.92 6.18 13.881 13.7973 0.316 0.3 Egypt 76 81.39 2.316 1.1664 0.297 0.229 Morocco 31.12 32.76 2.889 3.0474 0.402 0.436 Yemen 21.97 24.13 1.34 1.0835 0.151 0.104 Source: Calculated and collected from the UN Foreign Trade Database (UN Comtrade) - http://comtrade.un.org. 1362

Table 3: Value of Exports, Value of Imports and Trade Balance of the under Study Arab Countries during the Period (2008-2011) (2012-2015) Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 Country Imports Exports Trade Balance Imports Exports Trade Balance Jordan 17.84 11.67-6.17 23.22 14.8-8.42 United Arab Emirates 203.43 225.38 21.96 296.57 380.22 83.65 Tunisia 23.59 22.27-1.32 25.08 20.79-4.29 Algeria 49.21 65.28 16.07 61.56 73.39 11.83 Saudi Arabia 169.38 262.45 93.08 222.25 393.52 171.27 Sudan 6.33 1.53-4.81 11.34 10.12-1.22 Syria 17.99 17.73-0.26 22.41 12.26-10.15 Qatar 30.36 60.37 30.01 53.78 142 88.22 Kuwait 34.67 80.69 46.02 46.21 127.95 81.74 Libya 28.17 54.11 25.94 36.36 44.57 8.21 Egypt 61.55 50.68-10.87 65.08 45.16-19.92 Morocco 40.65 29.7-10.95 48.45 34.69-13.76 Yemen 10.77 8.6-2.17 13.52 9.63-3.9 Source: Calculated and collected from the UN Foreign Trade Database (UN Comtrade) - http://comtrade.un.org 1363

Table 4: The total value of exports, the total value of the agricultural exports and food exports for the studied Arab countries during the period (2008-2011) (2012-2015) (Value in million ) Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 % Agricultural %Food exports of The total The total value Food exports of the agricultural value of of the exports total exports exports exports agricultural Country The total The total value Food %Agricultural value of the exports exports of the total exports agricultural exports exports exports Jordan 11672 1089 899 9.34 82.45 14800 947 853.84 6.4 90.14 United Arab Emirates %Food exports of agricultural exports 225384 1079 1076 0.48 99.7 380220 1524 1305 0.4 85.6 Tunisia 22269 1900 1118 8.53 58.82 21793 1690 1215 7.75 71.89 Algeria 65284 1427 1006 2.19 70.49 73391 909 739.63 1.24 81.34 Saudi Arabia 262455 4181 3876 1.59 92.68 393518 3659 3531.88 0.93 96.53 Sudan 1526 379.8 252 24.89 66.44 10121 376 280.89 3.71 74.76 Syria 17733 1690.5 1367 9.53 80.84 12264 1279 1179.35 10.43 92.19 Qatar 60371 560.58 77 0.93 13.68 141995 166 55.59 0.12 33.58 Kuwait 80685 544.33 385 0.67 70.72 127948 368 285.31 0.29 77.54 Libya 54112 424.66 350 0.78 82.5 44567 334 314.98 0.75 94.42 Egypt 50680 2848.3 2702 5.62 94.87 45160 2310 2194.31 5.12 95 Morocco 29702 2575.8 2164 8.67 84.03 34689 2289 2034.3 6.6 88.88 Yemen 8602 566.74 529 6.59 93.31 9626 504 501.9 5.24 99.57 Total Countries Under Study Total Arab Countries 890475 19270 15801 1310092 16355 14492 924550 22704 18132 1379443 20148 17888 % of the total studied countries 96.31 84.88 87.15 94.97 81.17 81.01 Of the total Arab country Source: Calculated and collected from the UN Foreign Trade Database (UN Comtrade) - http://comtrade.un.org 1364

Table 5: The total value of, agricultural, food, and the relative importance of the studied Arab countries of the total Arab countries during the period (2008-2011) (2012-2015) (Value in million ) Country The total value of The total value of the agricultural Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 Food Food % Agricultural of the total % Food of agricultural The total value of The total value of the agricultural % Agricultural of the total % Food of agricultural Jordan 17841 2488 1435 13.94 57.67 23224 2893 2534 12.46 87.59 United Arab Emirates 203427 7140 3612 3.51 50.59 296573 7469 4786 2.52 64.08 Tunisia 23589 2128 1209 9.02 56.84 26084 2334 1443 8.95 61.81 Algeria 49214 7252 5478 14.74 75.53 61562 7092 5142 11.52 72.5 Saudi Arabia 169377 14491 14250 8.56 98.34 222249 17890 16509 8.05 92.29 Sudan 6334 462 242 7.29 52.48 11345 568 231 5 40.79 Syria 17991 3141 2836 17.46 90.29 12407 2296 1956 18.5 85.21 Qatar 30364 1554 1419 5.12 91.31 53778 1442 1260 2.68 87.33 Kuwait 34669 1920 1255 5.54 65.35 46209 1811 1193 3.92 65.88 Libya 28174 2093 1829 7.43 87.36 36357 2016 1768 5.55 87.68 Egypt 61546 6798 6277 11.05 92.34 65075 10698 10026 16.44 93.71 Morocco 40648 4278 2984 10.52 69.77 48454 4752 3779 9.81 79.53 Yemen 10768 2256 2220 20.95 98.41 13524 2641 2616 19.53 99.06 Total Countries Under Study 693941 55999 45047 - - 916839 63902 53244 - - Total Arab Countries 728416 64236 53666 - - 964430 66747 59119 - - % of the total studied countries Of the total Arab country 95.27 87.18 83.94 - - 95.07 95.74 90.06 - - Source: Calculated and collected data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org. 1365

countries and countries with wars and revolutions, all agricultural become food because of product are not imported or decreased. Third: Arab-intra trade during the period (2008 2015). Agricultural trade in general and Arab-intra trade, in particular, are of great importance in the economic structure of the Arab countries, through Arab countries exports are exchanged to provide some of food commodities, that are not available locally. Therefore, the relative advantages enjoyed by some Arab countries in crop production, World Trade Efficiency Index (The World Trade Organization) (WTO) shows that Syria, Egypt, and Morocco are the most competitive Arab countries in the export of agricultural products, with Syria ranking 27, Morocco 42 and Egypt 62 of 184 countries exporting the most commodities worldwide (5).The creation of trade occurs when the tariff is reduced or canceled as a result of economic integration. There is a decline in the price of the commodity from the country that was dealt with before the economic integration. This country enjoys the comparative advantage in its production. It has more specialization in the production of this commodity, and this is called the creation of trade, but if it does not enjoy the comparative advantage in its production, and the reduction or elimination of tariffs as a result of economic integration, this leads to increased trade with them, and at the expense of other countries the most Production efficiency that was dealt with prior to integration, and such a change in the direction of trade is called trade conversion, It is undesirable, hence the focus should be on the economic integration leading to the creation of trade and agreement on goods that have a comparative advantage in production among the countries of the agreement or economic integration. The characteristics and stages of economic integration among countries: Table 6 shows the characteristics and stages of economic integration among countries, the Member States of economic integration have important advantages in the economic sphere, the most important of which are: 1-The size of the market and the consequent economic consequences such as increasing the productivity of projects in member countries to meet the new increase in the demand for their products. 2-Achieving economies of scale in production. 3. Increase specialization and division of labor among members. 4-Creating new areas of employment and increasing employment opportunities. 5-Increasing the incentive for investment. 6-Establishment of a single economic bloc with economic strength and importance in the international trade (10). On the other hand, there are some negatives or consequences facing economic integration such as 1-The problem of unified customs tariff 2-The problem of customs protection due to the different conditions of productive projects in member countries and the different degree of growth of their national economies. 3-Problem of the division of customs revenues. 4-The problem of coordination of economic policies (10). Table (7) shows the value of the Arab -intra agricultural trade and the relative importance of it, The decrease in the value of Arab -intra agricultural trade among the studied countries during the two periods, except Qatar, Morocco and Egypt, where the value of intra-trade in the two periods increased by about 19%, 28%, and 75% respectively. The relative importance of intra-agricultural trade of the total Arab agricultural trade for each country increased in general over the two periods without exception but in varying percentages. Possible of integration opportunities of Arab Agro-intra Trade: - The largest amount of Arab agricultural integration can be achieved by converting the bulk of the total Arab and agricultural exports into intra-exports, thus helping to achieve the Arab self- 1366

Table 6: The characteristics and stages of economic integration among countries. Reducing Eliminate External unified trade trade barriers trade barriers Characteristics barriers Freedom of production factors movement unison of member states (fixed exchange rates( Standard monetary and fiscal policy determined by a central authority (common currency Preferential trade agreements Free Trade Zone Customs Union Common Market Monetary Union Economic Union Economic integration Source: League of Arab States, Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Executive Program of the Arab Free Trade Agreement 2015-2014. Coordinating monetary, fiscal, administrative, legislative political and security policies Table 7: Value of Arab intra agricultural trade and integration opportunities for the under study countries during the period (2008-2011) (2012-2015) Value in million Country Inter- Arab Inter- Arab Exports Inter-Arab Agricultural Trade Average 2008-2011 Average 2012-2015 %Arab Inter- Trade of Arab Agricultural Trade Inter- Arab Trade of total Exports Integration Opportunities % Integration Opportunities Inter- Arab Inter- Arab Exports Inter-Arab Agricultural Trade %Arab Inter- Trade of Arab Agricultural Trade Inter- Arab Trade of total Exports Integration Opportunities Jordan 690102 932653 1664455 46.5 7.99 107391 92 53998 132031 412742 70 0.89 14667842 99 United Arab Emirates - - - 0 - - - 96701 834001 180102 25 0.22 37938574 99.8 Tunisia 143962 446691 590653 14.7 2 2182226 98 15164 400519 552167 37.2 1.84 21392971 98 Algeria 151505 23980 223318 2.6 0.04 6526029 100 57549 114769 172318 21.5 0.16 73276462 99.8 Arabia Saudi - - - 0 - - - 24018 190318 304999 14.2 0.05 3933274 100 Sudan 28234 718018 1381872 64 47 808281 53 17980 95240 113220 38 0.94 10025857 99 Syria 378731 1433564 187356 3.9 8.1 1629963 92 39669 139308 178978 50.1 1.14 12124368 99 Qatar 290832 5952 296784 14 0.01 6036493 100 31762 8903.5 326526 20.3 0.01 14198648 100 Kuwait - - - 0 - - - 40773 112684 520422 23.8 0.09 12783544 99.9 Libya - - - 0 - - - 21887 183933 402809 75 0.41 44382701 99.6 Egypt 228414 1500534 2768308 28.7 3 4917939 97 31575 380154 484634 37.3 0.84 44779385 99 Morocco 171753 175888 397849 5.8 0.59 2952616 99 18606 222023 408083 58 0.64 34467269 99 Yemen 417690 196249 615202 21.8 2.3 8405538 98 48395 119784 603741 69 1.24 9506411 99 Source: Calculated and collected data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org. % Integration Opportunities 1367

sufficiency of the most important commodity groups. Table (7) shows the percentage of intra-exports to the total exports of each country, These percentages ranged between the highest percentage achieved in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt at about 8.1%, 7.99%, and 3%, respectively, and a minimum of zero in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya during the first period, The percentage of all countries except Sudan increased by 11.17%. This indicates that opportunities are more available for integration on the basis that the percentage of integration opportunities is considered to be the percentage of the total exports according to the definition of the integration opportunities, which is the difference between the value of total and intra- exports of the state. The percentage of integration opportunities among the under study Arab countries in the exchange of the most important food commodities during the average period 2008-2015, Table (8) shows that the ranking of countries in terms of integration opportunities of wheat crop is (UAE - Kuwait, Morocco - Sudan, Saudi Arabia Yemen - Jordan - Algeria, Qatar, Tunisia, Syria, Egypt, and Libya), respectively, by about( 100, 98, 100, 98, 98, 77, 73, 58, 35 and 100)% respectively. In general for all goods, and the increase in this ratio indicates that the market of this country a promising market and large to accommodate large quantities of this commodity. In terms of maize, the highest percentage was recorded in the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, and Algeria, where it reached 100, 100, 96.80% respectively, and the lowest in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and Libya,( 0%, 28%,28%,32%) respectively. Red meat, was highest in the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Qatar with a percentage of (100, 100, 99.95 and 90%) respectively, with the lowest percentage in (Sudan, Syria, Libya, and Yemen) it where reached (58 %, 29%, 0%.0%) respectively. White meat, the highest percentage was achieved in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Syria, and Kuwait, with a percentage of 91.7, 90.9, 90.7, 82 and 76.7%, respectively, and the minimum was( 55.7, 0%.0%, 0%) for Qatar, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen, respectively. Oil, the highest was in the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, with a percentage of about 100% each of them, and the lowest is about 58, 25 and 18% for Yemen, Kuwait, and Egypt respectively. Sugar The highest percentage was achieved in Sudan, Libya, Jordan, Tunisia, and Syria, with rates reaching 45, 43.39, 35 and 23% respectively, and the lowest in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) decreased by about 12.10.23, 5.8%, respectively. The highest percentage of onions was achieved in the UAE, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar by 100,100, 98.67 and 90.7%, and the lowest in Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria by about 10, 4.5 and 0.0% respectively. The highest percentage of orange (UAE, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan) was achieved by (100%, 100%, 92.3%, 49%) and the lowest (about 20, 19, 11, 9.6%) for Kuwait, Algeria, Jordan, Respectively. The highest percentage of potatoes was recorded in Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Yemen, UAE (87.9, 53.46, 51.33, 47.37%) and lowest (7.8, 0.7-0.0%) for Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Sudan. Respectively The study of Egypt's foreign trade with the economic blocs to evaluate this trade relationship with the blocs especially the Arab countries. Table (9) shows that the average exports of Egypt during the period 2008-2015 amounted to about 22162 million, a decrease of about 6% during that period. Followed by the European Union with 29.64%, followed by the European Union with 31.3% of Egypt's total exports. The value of Egyptian exports to Arab countries reached about 6896.2 million, an increase of 7% during that period. As for the Egyptian from the Arab countries, the same table shows that the average of Egypt during the period 2008-2015 amounted to about 49397 million, an increase of about 21% during that period. The Arab countries came in fourth place in terms of import exchange, which amounted to 12.85% Of Egypt's total, and the average value of Egyptian from Arab countries amounted to about 6269 million, an increase of about 17% during that period. The commodities balance of Egypt for the most important imported and exported commodities and the relative importance of these commodities during the period (2008 2015): Table (10) shows Egypt's commodity balance of the most important imported and exported goods and the relative importance of these commodities during the average period from 2008 to 2015. The main commodities imported by Egypt are wheat, maize, oil, red meat -white meat), where the production of these commodities amounted to (9999.14, 9836.3, 272, 834, 290.65) tons respectively. The self-sufficiency rate was about (55.49, 63.7, 32.2, 83.39, 95%) respectively. The deficit in the trade balance amounted to (-2562.4, -854.8, -180.66, -719.9, -55.55) million, respectively-the relative importance of the export: Value of these commodities for agricultural 1368

Table 8: Percentage of opportunities integration among the under study of Arab countries in the exchange of the most important food commodities during the period 2008-2015 Commodity Country Wheat% Maize% Red meat% White meat % Oils% Sugar% Onion% Orange % Potato% Jordan 88 96 89 69.1 95 39 74.13 11.4 87.94 United Arab Emirates 100 100 100 91.7 100 0 100 100 46.16 Tunisia 73 28 99 75.2 100 35 0 20.7 51.33 Algeria 81 80 95 73.5 100 21 0 19.1 38.63 Saudi Arabia 96 41 68 90.9 97 12.7 98.67 92.3 7.03 Sudan 97 73 58 0 98 45 84.85 49.1 0 Syria 58 28 29 82.1 93 23.2 79.94 9.6 7.88 Qatar 77 61 90 55.7 0 10.23 90.7 43.2 0 Kuwait 100 100 66 76.7 25 5.84 10 20 53.46 Libya 0 0 0 0 100 43.67 100 100 22.29 Egypt 35 32 86 57.7 18 21.96 62.92 40 29.57 Morocco 98 37 100 90.7 97 20 4.05 42.6 14.85 Yemen 93 50 0 0 58 22.41 32.32 40.2 47.37 Source: calculated and collected data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org 1369

Table 9: Egypt's external trade with economic blocs during the period 2008-2015 Value per million 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Average Egyptian Exports 26204 23102 27324 30611 15794 14923 16896 22438 22162 (-6) 100 Arab countries 6684 7969 8674 8677 4302 4591 4268 10004 6896-7 30 European Union 9261 6794 8119 9575 5208 4218 2606 5592 6422 (-19) 31 Asia (without Arab countries) change ratio % Exports of total exports 5424 4093 5012 6324 3385 3267 941 2831 3910 (-4) 20 North Amarica 1277 1429 1696 1596 769 872 186 1304 1141-13 6 Eastern Europe 286 292 391 539 420 264 781 241 402 (-37) 2 Africa (without Arab States) 985 670 1364 1971 828 693 196 1114 978 (-16) 5 Latin America 281 116 387 380 177 193 1137 272 368-9 1 Other 704 1550 1681 1739 2006 3948 4236 2504 2296 55 8 Egyptian 52916 44946 52944 58940 27814 33557 56893 67169 49397-21 100 Arab countries 7437 5048 6264 7949 3820 4476 7104 8057 6269-17 13 European Union 14396 14278 17092 17322 8567 9764 10269 11128 12852-14 30 Asia (without Arab countries) 13229 12835 15069 15928 7223 9745 15237 18225 13436-35 27 North Amarica 5690 4739 4950 6308 3561 2638 3643 4074 4450 (-26) 11 Eastern Europe 4554 3311 3965 4408 1595 3930 5784 6233 4223-146 8 Africa (without Arab States) 960 598 738 849 427 372 588 1002 692 (-13) 2 Latin America 2711 1887 2737 3891 1357 1599 3345 4299 2728-18 5 Other 11376 7299 8393 10233 5084 5510 5671 6717 7535-34 18 Source: Collected and calculated from Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) data - International Trade Point Sector Egypt. 1370

exports amounted to about 1.36, 1.15, 2.15 and 1.15% respectively. The import value of these commodities for agricultural is about 34, 20.8, 6.6, 7.6 and 20%, respectively. The main commodities exported by Egypt are (potatoes, sugar, onions, oranges), where the production of these commodities amounted to about (5036, 1690, 1647.45 and 3975.6 ) tons, respectively. The self-sufficiency ratio was about 100.7%, 66.4 %, 92%, 131% respectively, and the surplus in the trade balance reached about 99.5, 128, 109.8 and 430 million respectively. The relative importance of the value of exports of these commodities for agricultural exports was about 7.9%, 6.64%, 7%, 19.93% respectively. The value of of these commodities of agricultural was about 0.48%, 0.25%, 0.36%, 0.59 % respectively. Egyptian matrix of the studied commodities, quantity and value with some Arab countries during the period 2008-2015: Table (11) shows the main countries which Egypt the studied commodities from it is clear that (Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Yemen) are the most important countries for wheat. The average imported quantities during the two periods are (113.29, 32.364, 18.201, 6.713) Thousand tons respectively, with value (36009, 7857, 5467, 2012) respectively. The average price is about 324, 253, 300, 300 respectively, it is clear that Jordan and Syria have a price advantage because their prices are lower than the world price. Egypt can concentrate in importing from it more than Algeria and Yemen. Maize the most important countries are (Libya - Sudan - Sudan) and the average quantities reached about (0.420, 1.538.1.570) tons, respectively, with a value of (158, 522, 455) respectively, and the average import price amounted to about 376,355, 283) per ton respectively, Sudan has a price advantage because its price is lower than the world price, Egypt can concentrate on importing from it. Oils the most important countries are (Syria - Jordan) where the average quantities reached about (2.56, 0.199) tons value of (2914, 218), respectively, and the import price was about (1095, 1098) per ton respectively, this prices less than the world price. Red meat the most important country (UAE - Syria) and reached about (0.150, 0.5) tons, respectively, with a value of (456, 170.5) respectively, at an import price of about (3000), 3251 per ton respectively. White meat the most important countries (Saudi Arabia - Jordan) and reached about (0.280, 0.60) tons respectively, with a value of (539, 146), at an import price of about (1925, 2000) per ton respectively. It is clear from the table that the quantities imported by Egypt from the under study Arab countries are low and even small for the large quantities imported from these commodities from the non-arab countries. Therefore, we recommend concentrating the import from the under study Arab countries for proximity and because these countries have a price advantage which less than the world price. As for other commodities such as potatoes and onions, no quantities were imported from these countries. Sugar a small quantity and the main countries which import (Saudi Arabia - Jordan - UAE) and the quantities reached about 1.89, 0.839, 0.319 tons respectively. The value of (1128, 492, 192), at an average price about (550, 586, 621) per ton respectively. And Egyptian oranges which imported from it very small quantities not exceeding 89 tons of (Saudi Arabia - Libya - Syria - Qatar) the imported quantity (0.2, 0.3, 0.2, 0.19) tons respectively, valued at 17, 20, 12, 12, At a price about (850, 667, 632, 600) per ton respectively. Egypt's export matrix of studied commodities quantity and value with some Arab countries during the period 2008-2015: Table (12) shows the most important countries in which Egypt exports the studied commodities, The table shows that Egypt exports low amounts of wheat, corn, oils, red meat, and white meat, But imported large quantities, where the highest imported quantity of wheat, from Saudi Arabia and the average quantity during the two periods about 36.5 tons, with value 19.9, the price of tons about 551, and Jordan with a quantity of 22 tons, value of 12, and the price of tons about 549. And maize, the highest average exported quantity to Libya and Kuwait was about (66.5, 89) tons, value of (16-35), and the price (326,381) per ton, respectively, Oils, the highest export volume was about 130 tons to Jordan with a value of 189.5, with an export price of about 1456, Kuwait and Libya about 23.5, with a value 35.3, 33.9, and export price about 1561,1456 respectively, Red meat, the highest average quantity exported about( 10.5-6.6) tons to Kuwait and Qatar with a value of (19.7, 14), and the export price about (1880, 2377) per ton, respectively, White meat, the highest average exported volume (26.917.5) tons for Kuwait and Qatar with a value of (46.5, 36.5) at (1967, 2000) per ton. For the potato, 1371

Table 10: Egypt's commodities balance of the most important imported and exported goods and the relative importance of these commodities during the average period (2008-2015) Quantity per tons - value per ) Item Imports of goods Exports of Exports Imports Trade Balance Sufficiency from agricultural Production Consumption agricultural exports rate Imported commodities Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value Wheat 9999 0.102 57.8 8890 2562494-8890 -2562436 18021 55.49 0.0003 1.01 31.5 34 Corn 9836 0.098 39.2 5604 1854816-5604 -1854777 15440 63.71 0.0033 1.36 19.8 20.8 Oils 272 0.012 19.2 180 180587-180 -180568 845 32.2 0.0004 1.15 9 6.6 Red meat 834 0.173 343.1 224 720290-223.8-719947 1000 83.39 0.0058 2.01 6.9 7.6 White meat 291 1 1774 28.8 57325.8-27.8-55552 306 95.05 0.0335 1.15 8 20 The most important exported commodities potato 5036 0.646 235.9 0.23 136.4 0.42 99.52 4997 100.78 0.0216 7.9 1 0.48 Sugar 1690 0.287 198.2 0.12 69.9 0.17 128.31 2545 66.4 0.211 6.64 0.9 0.25 Onions 1647 0.309 209.7 0.185 99.9 0.12 109.81 1791 92 0.22 7.02 0.67 0.36 Orange 3976 0.758 595.3 0.25 165.25 0.51 430.05 3024 131.48 0.25 19.9 0.84 0.59 Source: Collected and calculated data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org Table 11: Egypt's matrix of the studied goods quantity and value with some Arab countries during the period from 2008-2015 Quantity per tons - value per Countr y Exporting country Item Period Worl d price Jordan United Arab Emirates Tunisia Algeria Saudi Arabia Sudan Quanti ty Values Price per Quant ity Values Price per thousan d Quantit y The most important imported commodities Egypt Wheat 2011-008 0.282 44596 10074 0.226 - - - - 18201 5467 0.3 - - - - - 2015-12 0.3 20131 5639 0.28 - - - - - - - - - - - Corn 2011-008 0.347 - - 3000 1015 0.338 - - - - - - 1570 445.0.283 2015-12 0.398 - - 78 29 0.372 - - - - - - - - - Oils 2011-008 1.086 199 218 1.095 - - - - 29 30 1.034 - - 6 5 0.83 2015-12 1.237 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Red meat 2011-008 3.24 2 5 2.5 - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 3.5 - - 150 456 3.04 - - - - - - - - - White meat 2011-008 1.793 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Value s 2015-12 2.012 60 146 2.433 15 30 2 - - - - 280 539 1.93 - - - The most important exported commodities Egypt Potato 2011-008 0.64 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.603 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sugar 2011-008 0.551 - - - - - - - - 1216 278 0.23 - - - 2015-12 0.614 839 492 0.586 319 198 0.621 - - - - 958 696 0.73 - - - Onions 2011-008 0.571 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.54 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Orang e 2011-008 0.641 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.716 - - - - - - - - 20 17 0.85 - - - Source: Collected and calculated data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org Price per thousan d Quantit y Value s Price per thousan d Quantit y Value s Price per thousan d Quantit y Value s Price per thousan d 1372

Continued Table 11: Egypt's matrix of the studied goods quantity and value with some Arab countries during the period from 2008-2015. Country Exporting country Item Period World price Syria Qatar Kuwait Libya Morocco Yemen Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per thousan d The most important imported commodities Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Wheat 2011-008 0.282 199956 62434 0.312 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.3 139913 45591 0.326 - - - - - - - - - - - - 6713 2012 0.3 Corn 2011-008 0.347 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.382 - - - - - - - - - 420 158 0.376 - - - - - - Price per thousan d Egypt Oils 2011-008 1.086 1203 1100 0.914 - - - - - - - - - - - 25 26 1.04 Red meat White meat 2015-12 1.237 3690 4727 1.281 - - - - - - 30 32 1.07 - - - - - - 2011-008 3.5 95 323 3.4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 3.34 50.4 170.5 3.252 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2011-008 1.793 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 2.012 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The most important exported commodities potato 2011-008 0.640 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.603 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sugar 2011-008 0.614 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 5 0.625 Egypt 2015-12 0.599 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Onions 2011-008 0.571 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.54 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Orange 2011-008 0.641 19 12 0.632 20 12 0.6 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.716 - - - - - - - - 30 20 0.667 - - - - - - Source: Collected and calculated data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org 1373

Table 12: Egypt's exports matrix of the studied goods quantity and value with some Arab countries during the period from 2008-2015(Quantity per tons - value per ) Country Item Exporting country Jordan United Arab Emirates Tunisia Algeria Saudi Arabia Sudan Period World price Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per The most important imported commodities Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per Quantity Values Price per Egypt Egypt Wheat Corn Oils Red meat White meat potato Sugar Onions Orange 2011-008 0.573 26 14.1 0.542 2 1 0.5 - - - 91 51 0.56 64 34.88 0.545 79 42 0.532 2015-12 0.564 18 10 0.556 - - - - - - - - - 9 5.04 0.56 - - - 2011-008 235.7 29 11.0 2 0.38 12 7 0.609 57 21.1 0.37 - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 464.3 16 7.31 0.457 33 15 0.457 - - - - - - 87 227 260 17.9 8 0.447 2011-008 1.694 115 166 1.443 4.9 8 1.633 2.4 4 1.667 - - - 55 92 1.673 17.5 29 1.657 2015-12 1.489 145 213 1.47 0.7 1 1.429 7 10 1.429 2.8 4 1.4 5.9 9 1.525 1.3 2 1.54 2011-008 2.417 1.7 3 1.76 6.6 19 2.879 - - - - - - 2.1 5 2.38 - - - 2015-12 1.766 3 5 1.67 2 4 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2011-008 1.877 1.6 3 1.875 6.3 14 2.222 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 1.993 - - - 3.1 6 1.94 0.5 1 2 - - - - - - - - - 2011-008 0.373 585 207.6 8 The most important exported commodities 0.355 5610 1936 0.35 9483 3366 0.355 28 10 0.357 908 299 0.329 250 89 0.36 2015-12 0.352 639 224 0.351 840 294.8 0.35 1704 528 0.31 - - - 1680 596.4 0.36 3 1 0.33 2011-008 0.636 2303 1410 0.612 2.8 2 0.71-494 314 0.636 140 84 0.6 94990 60101 0.63 2015-12 0.798 290 210 0.724 4 3 0.75 42.6 34 0.798 - - - 2.8 2 0.71 79414 57757 0.73 2011-008 0.63 2135 1347 0.631 4020 2483 0.62 125 79 0.63 5.6 4 0.714 135994 83385 0.61 185 114 0.62 2015-12 0.64 10950 6671 0.609 589 397 0.67 32.8 21 0.64 55 34 0.62 157261 99116 0.63 46 29 0.63 2011-008 0.796 4953 3945 0.796 2856 2272 0.8 86.7 69 0.796 23 17 0.74 10927 8694 0.8 16033 12265 0.77 2015-12 0.716 - - - - - - - - 20 17 0.85 - - - Source: Collected and calculated data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org 1374

Continued Table 12: Egypt's exports matrix of the studied goods quantity and value with some Arab countries during the period from 2008-2015 Country Item Wheat Exporting country Syria Qatar Kuwait Libya Morocco Yemen Price Price per Price Price Price Period World perthou thous per per per Quantity Values Quantity Values Quantity Values Quantity Values Quantity Values price sand and thousan thousan thousan Quantity dollar d d d s The most important imported commodities 2011-008 0.573 4 2.18 0.545 - - 0.508 - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 0.564 - - - - - - 4 2 0.5 1.9 1 0.526 - - - - - - Values Price per Egypt Egypt Corn Oils Red meat White meat potato Sugar Onions 2011-008 235.7 16 4.51 0.282 - - 0.234 58 20.01 0.345 - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 464.3 - - - - - 0.417 120 50 0.417 - - - - - - - - - 2011-008 1.489 - - - 4.2 6 1.471 12 17.8 1.484 17 24 1.412 1.2 2 1.667 - - - 2015-12 1.588 - - - 0.7 1 1.545 35 50 1.429 - - - - - - - - - 2011-008 2.923 - - - 6 17 2.455 - - - 12 34 2.833 - - - - - - 2015-12 2.417 - - - 12 20 1.76 0.7 2 2.857 - - - - - - - - - 2011-008 1.993 - - - 18 34 1.712 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2015-12 2.29 - - - 17 39 2.222 - - - - - - - - - - - - The most important exported commodities 2011-008 0.373 1940 718 0.37 156 58 0.34 6045 2115 0.35 1013 378 0.373 8.5 3 0.353 - - - 2015-12 0.357 1750 587 0.335 190 67 0.35 159 53 0.333 636 227 0.357 - - - - - 2011-008 0.636 7270 4593 0.632 1.6 1 0.6 14900 9523 0.639 - - - 3465 2203 0.636 - - - 2015-12 0.786 26931 21191 0.787 - - 0.786 34020 24640 0.724 - - - 11497 9034 0.786 - - - 2011-008 0.64 13588 8698 0.64 390 245 0.64 1079 693 0.642 64 41 0.64 54.68 35 0.64 - - - 2015-12 0.713 18749 13687 0.73 285 204 0.71 724.601 517 0.713 468 334 0.713 2.803 2 0.713 - - - Orange 2011-008 0.774 4952 3788 0.765 3969 3072 0.712 352.7 273 0.774 264 204 0.774 624.1 483 0.774 - - - 2015-12 0.781 7939 6203 0.781 5611 4384 0.745 1388.6 1085 0.781 113 88 0.781 153.6 120 0.781 - - - Source: Collected and calculated data from the Arab League - Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, Arab Agricultural Statistics Yearbook - www.aoad.org 1375

Tunisia had the highest exported volume of 5394 tons, valued at 1892, and the price of tons about 340, and the lowest quantity in Algeria the amount of 28 tons, valued at 10 at 357 per ton. The highest amount of sugar exported to Libya was about 31916 tons, valued at 14699, at a price of 525, The lowest amount was to Qatar about 1.6 tons, valued at 1 at 630 per ton. Onion, the highest export amount to Saudi Arabia, and amounted to about 103872 tons, with a value 65179, and the price 651 per tons. The amount of Yemen about 24.98 tons, with a value 16, and the price 660 per ton. The highest export volume of orange was Saudi Arabia 102840 tons, with a value 77131 and the price of 764 per ton. The amount of the state of Tunisia about 147 tons, volume about 114.5 at the price of 780 per ton. The table shows that Egypt exports (potatoes, sugar, onions, oranges) to almost all the Arab studied countries at a price lower than the world price, So we will Comment only on the highest importing country and the lowest country, the export price is less than the world price indicates Egypt's exports has the advantage of the price, and the comparative advantage in the production of these crop. Fifth: Foreign trade efficiency Indicators during the period 2008-2015 : The foreign trade of a commodity (exports and ) reflects the true picture of the internal and external demand for this commodity, The increase of the country's exports of the commodity means that there is an external demand for this commodity, and vice versa. The foreign trade efficiency reflects the efficiency of the mechanisms or tools used in managing the available resources in the country, applying the principle of comparative advantage, and competitiveness in the use of resources (2). Foreign trade efficiency indicators - : 1- The average inclination of export. 2- The average inclination of import 3- The degree of economic openness. 4- Coverage rate 5- Dependency rate. 6- Degree of economic participation. The average inclination of export. Is the ratio of the exports value to the value of the Gross domestic product, and can be calculated by dividing the value of total exports / GDP value. Table (13) shows that the most Arab studied countries in terms of the export coefficient are the UAE, Libya, Kuwait, (0.792, 0.659, 0.637) respectively, during the first period (2008-2011). In the second period (2012-2015), UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar were about 0.982, 0.731 and 0.724 respectively. For countries with political changes (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria), the export trend is declining. The average inclination of import. Is the ratio of value of / value of GDP Table (13) shows that the most Arab studied countries in terms of import factors are Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Tunisia, where the index reached (0.779, 0.715, 0.534) respectively in the first period of the study. The change in the ranking of the UAE preceded Jordan (UAE - Jordan - Tunisia) and the indicator reached about (0.766, 0.720, 0.567) respectively. For the countries that have changed, the indicator rose except Egypt, which dropped from 0.349 to 0.253. The degree of economic openness: It expresses the degree of the country's dealing with the outside world. This measure shows the ratio of the value of and exports to the value of GDP, = the value of exports + the value of / GDP. Table (13) shows that (United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia) are the most open countries in the first period by(1.51, 1.29, 1.04, 1, 0.911 and 0.910), respectively. In the second period the same as the previous arrangement with the addition of Qatar instead of Kuwait, and the value - The average inclination of export, The average inclination of import, The degree of economic openness for the agricultural sector of the Arab under study countries: Table (14) shows that Tunisia, Syria, and Morocco are the countries with the highest tendency to export (0.506, 0.502 and 0.501) respectively in the first period. The high tendency of in Qatar, Jordan, UAE, Libya) and reached (1.18, 0.42, 0.27, 0.11) 1376