Identification and Prioritization of Food Industry Products with the Economic Complexity and Product Space Theories: Guidance for Export Development

One of the drivers of the development of the agricultural sector is the development of production and export of the food industry as the downstream activity of this sector.  Accordingly, in the present study, it has been attempted to  prioritize the products of the food industry using two theories of economic complexity and product space. For this purpose, using the export data of food industry products at the level of four-digit HS codes,  the product space of the food industry was formed and the indicators resulting from the two mentioned theories including product complexity, product density, product opportunity benefit, and the dollar value of global product imports have been calculated and used. In the framework of three separate scenarios (in each different weights have been given to the listed indicators), priority products have been prioritized for the development of food industry exports. The findings of this research can be a good guide for public sector managers who are trying to prepare an industrial development plan.