Developing countries across East Asiahave made impressive progress in economic development.Despite the effect of the 1997-1998 financial crisis,poverty rates in the region have been consistentlydeclining. Agriculture played a key role by driving growthin the early stages of industrialization. It alsocontributed to reducing rural poverty by includingsmallholders into modern food markets and creating jobs inagriculture and agroindustry. As incomes rise and countriesurbanize, the composition of domestic food expenditure isshifting from basic and unprocessed staple foods to meat,horticulture and processed foods. In order to take fulladvantage of these emerging trade opportunities policymakers across East Asian countries must supportagribusinesses with effective regulations. Benchmarkingregulatory frameworks in East Asian economies through theEBA indicators suggests few general trends. First, thesecountries tend to perform better on efficiency than on legalcomponents. Second, most countries over perform the globalaverage on fertilizer regulations but fail to do so whenregulating seed systems. Third, access to markets andfinance regulations are two areas where regulation in theregion is particularly weak.
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