Demand for fiberboard panels in the international market

Abstract

The objective of this study is to estimate for several importing countries of fiberboard panels the income elasticities and price elasticities of total import demand and also the own-price and cross-price elasticities of demand for fiberboard panels, differentiated by country of origin. Time series data were used referring to the trade flow of the world's largest exporters and importers of fiberboard panels. The demand model being used treats products as imperfect substitutes. It was concluded that in Germany, China and United Kingdom the total import demand for fiberboard panels was more sensitive to variations in price than in income, whereas in other importing countries the reverse happened. The own-price elasticity of demand for fiberboard panels, differentiated by country of origin, was higher than one in almost all markets, except in Germany and United Kingdom. The negative cross-price elasticities suggest that fiberboard panels imported from other exporting countries are complementary products.