Analysis of Comparative Advantages and Protection Policies of Summer Soybean in Iran

The major part of cooking oil consumed in Iran is imported and Ministry of Agriculture plans to increase oil seeds production in 10 years (2005-2014). The purpose of this study is to analyze the protection policies for summer soybean production in Iran. Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) is used to measure the impact of government policies on private and social profitability. The data used for analysis is based on questionnaires filled up by Statistics Department of Ministry of Agriculture during 1998-2004. The results indicated that summer soybean had comparative advantages in the provinces which were main regions for production of these products while government policies were not supportive.