Abstract
Exports of fresh high value agricultural products, such as fresh fish and fruits, represent an increasing share of global food trade. The highly perishable nature of such products makes them less suitable for bulky transport to reduce transportation costs than more traditional agricultural commodities like grains or preserved foods. One will expect exporters to adjust their trading activities accordingly to ensure the quality and accessibility of the products in the final markets, as this commands the highest prices. This paper investigates the role of product quality in exports of fresh farmed salmon from Chile, a highly perishable product for which exports has increased strongly since the turn of the century. Utilizing customs data for the period 2012-2023, we first demonstrate that estimated structural quality closely aligns with physical quality indicators in exports of fresh salmon. Secondly we test the Alchian-Allen hypothesis by comparing quality distributions across transport modes. We find that air freight is systematically associated with higher product quality values compared to low-cost alternatives. Finally we disentangle exports values into respective trade margins documenting that quality primarily operates through scale (the intensive margin) in Chilean salmon trade. Our results provide empirical evidence of how product quality affects global agri-food supply chains.