Introduction
France is among the world’s top five leading economies. The country has significant agricultural resources, a huge industrial stand, and a vastly trained workforce (Hill, 2011). France’s economy is well organized to support international deals of trade with various goods and services. As such, France remains one of the European Union’s chief importers as well as an exporter of a range of products. The intent of this paper is to provide an analysis of the opportunities for import and export trade for France.
A comparison of opportunities for export and import trade in France
France is rated as the second biggest exporter globally. The country carries out export trade on a range of valuable products. The manufacturing sector accounts for a large percentage of the country’s chief exports with a variety of products like; machinery, chemicals, steel, transportation equipment, plastic, beverages, vehicles and petroleum (Kabundi& Nadal-De, 2009). Additionally, the country is a key exporter of agricultural and farm produce within the European Union. It is honorably famous for its cheese, poultry, wine, pork and wheat, and is rated as the world’s primary distributor of excellent produce in these areas (Kabundi& Nadal-De, 2009).Export trade opportunities have been encouraged immensely by the government in France. The French government for instance, offers substantial subsidies to its agricultural industry to encourage its growth and ensure enlarged export activities in the sector. Additionally, the France government has continued to initiate various structural reforms to encourage export trade growth and opportunities in the country. A great part of export trade in France is carried out with European partners who include Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain and Italy (Kabundi& Nadal-De, 2009).
Similarly, France is a major importer among the European Union Countries. The country’s prime imports are vehicles, machinery and equipment, consumer products, aircraft, crude oil, plastics and chemicals (Anjaria & IMF, 1983). France’s import trade just like the exports is carried out with the same countries like Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Despite France doing so well in export trade however, import trade is progressing at a much faster rate than the export opportunities. High domestic demand can be attributed as the main factor for this. As much as France is a major exporter of food products, it is still considerably much beneficial to import food products in France as opposed to any other commodities. This is owing to the changing lifestyles among the France population as well as an interest in other cultures like the American culture. Because of this, there is an increased import opportunity for consumer products in France. These products include soft drinks, snack foods, candies and chocolates, cereals and kosher foods whose market demand has continued to increase (Anjaria & IMF, 1983).
Changing the economic outlook for France and the benefits
Generally, over the past few years there has been a slow down in the economic growth of France. This is basically due to the deficit in its exports versus the import opportunities. To change this economic outlook, the France companies need to be more aggressive in their salesmanship in the speedily growing upcoming countries like china and India. Additionally the France government ought to device more practical interventions to encourage more export trade opportunities, for instance encouraging local industries to venture into food products industry. By going this, France will be able to expand the sale of its exports to various other countries hence accrue more proceeds from the export opportunities. At the same time, the internal demand of the country will be met by the local industries. France will therefore be better placed to effectively compete globally.
Downsides to expanding international trade opportunities for France
Expanding international trade opportunities for France can however bring various drawbacks in the country. Over concentrantrating on boosting the export opportunities can for example affect the self sufficiency of the country. In the quest to earn foreign income, more products may be exported and the domestic demands may not be adequately met. Additionally, policies encouraging importation of products in the country may end up hampering the growth of local industries in France. It is therefore important for the country to strike a balance, even as it seeks to expand its international trade opportunities.
Works cited
Anjaria, S. J., & International Monetary Fund. (1983). Developments in international trade
policy. Washington, D.C: International Monetary Fund.
Hill, C. W. L. (2011). Global business today. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kabundi, A. N., Nadal-De, S. F., & International Monetary Fund. (2009). Recent French export
performance: Is there a competitiveness problem?. Washington, D.C: International Monetary Fund.
