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Licorice is an important specialty crop that links agricultural production, processing and trade, and rural livelihoods in the arid and semi-arid regions of China. Using UN Comtrade data for HS 130212 from 1990 to 2024, this study evaluates the international Trade Competitiveness of China’s licorice exports and identifies the sources of export growth. A multi-indicator static framework is constructed, combining International Market Share (IMS), the Trade Competitiveness Index (TC), the Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage index (RSCA) and the Revealed Competitive Advantage index (CA). The results show that China maintains a relatively large and stable global market share and a persistent net export position, but its comparative and net Competitive Advantages are weaker than those of high-end suppliers such as France and Israel, revealing a pattern of “large scale but weak competitiveness”. To capture dynamic drivers, an extended Constant Market Share (CMS) model is applied to decompose China’s licorice exports into world demand, structural and competitiveness effects. The decomposition indicates that export growth has gradually shifted from being mainly driven by global demand expansion to relying more on improvements in product competitiveness and market reconfiguration, particularly in emerging markets. These findings suggest that upgrading product quality and processing, strengthening standards and branding, and promoting more inclusive value-chain development are essential for transforming China’s licorice exports from scale expansion to high-quality growth and for enhancing rural incomes in producing regions.

Global climate change and the increasing population have increased the difficulties associated with grain production. Several measures have been established to maintain a high crop yield, while preserving or increasing soil health, including biochar application to soil, and producing new complex soil with soil amendment application, e.g., biochar and soft rocks. However, previous studies have focused on the effect of complex soil on a single crop but have not considered crop rotation. In this study, field plots with foxtail millet cultivated for two years under biochar and soft rock application were selected for licorice cultivation to detect the effects of biochar and soft rock application on soil properties and licorice yield. The results showed that the biochar-treated plot had the highest licorice biomass (251.76 g/m2), followed by the combined biochar and soft rock treatment, and that the soft rock and control treatments had the lowest licorice biomass (97.65 g/m2). Plants in biochar-treated plots had the highest liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid contents, followed by those under soft rock treatment. Soft rocks and biochar increased the soil catalase activity, organic matter, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, formic acid, and available phosphorus (AP). Correlation analysis showed that the licorice biomass was significantly positively correlated with oxalic acid and AP and negatively correlated with soil pH. AP was positively correlated with catalase activity and oxalic acid (p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with soil pH (p < 0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that the addition of biochar and soft rocks for two years could increase soil organic acid contents (especially that of oxalic acid), which function to reduce soil pH, increase soil AP content, and enhance licorice biomass.

In the framework of the European bioeconomy, liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) represents a promising crop for sustainable agriculture due to its ecological adaptability, nitrogen-fixing capacity, and wide industrial applications. This study aims to identify suitable areas for liquorice cultivation across Spanish municipalities by integrating Geographic Information System (GIS)-based spatial analysis with a multi-criteria evaluation approach. Agronomic factors, annual mean temperature, soil pH, and water availability were combined with socioeconomic indicators including population decline, rural classification, and unemployment rate. Each municipality received a composite suitability score from 0 to 12 based on six criteria, with agronomic variables scored from 0 to 3 and socioeconomic factors assessed through binary classification. Results reveal that southern and southwestern regions, particularly Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Extremadura, exhibit the most favourable conditions for liquorice cultivation, offering both optimal environmental parameters and potential socioeconomic benefits. The study concludes that liquorice could serve as a regenerative and climate-resilient crop contributing to rural revitalization in Spain. A pilot case in Aragón illustrates its potential to promote social inclusion, repurpose historical assets, and stimulate local economies in depopulated, flood-prone areas.