The analysis of the accumulation and export of nutrients by the cowpea crop is fundamental for a more sustainable fertilization program, because the definition of the doses of organic fertilizers based only on the estimated maximum yield does not guarantee the maintenance of soil fertility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of fertilization with chicken manure on the productivity, accumulation and exportation of nutrients by the pods of cowpea. A randomized block design was used, with five doses of chicken manure (0; 5; 10; 20 and 40 t ha^-1) and four repetitions. The highest levels of P and Mg were found in the leaves with the application of 40 t ha^-1 of manure. The maximum pod length was 14.47 cm, estimated with the dose of 33.33 t ha^-1 of manure. The highest values of diameter, number of pods per plant and pod productivity were observed at the highest dose of manure applied. In relative terms, that is, total exported in relation to the total extracted by the aerial part, phosphorus is the nutrient most exported by the pods, on average 58%, followed by N (55%), K (43%), Mg (40%), S (38%) and Ca (17%). At the highest dose, although Ca accumulation occurred in large quantities (31.3 kg ha^-1), only 13% of it was exported by the pods. Fertilizing cowpea with chicken manure supplied essential nutrients and increased pod yield from 7.2 (no fertilization) to 16.3 t ha^-1 (fertilization with 40 t ha^-1 of chicken manure). The plant remains of the cowpea constitute an important source of nutrients, being obtained at the highest dose of manure applied (40 t ha^-1) the following amounts of macronutrients (kg ha^-1): N (51.4); P (5.1); K (27.6); Ca (27.1); Mg (8.2); S (5.1), which may return to the soil, with the incorporation of the plants.

The article investigates trade flows between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member-states and Belarus before the upcoming Belarus’ joining the organization. The export flows of the countries are modeled using a power function based on the time data. The results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of foreign trade between the organization and the Republic of Belarus are presented, as well as the quantitative forecast of the prospects open to Belarus in connection with its joining the organization based on three original scenarios using econometric models. The results of the study show that Belarus has certain promising sectors of foreign economic activity, which can contribute to an increase in income from trade. It was found that the integration of the country will have a positive effect on increasing the volume of trade turnover with the participating countries, while in order to maintain sustainable economic growth of the country, domestic development of production should remain a priority, as evidenced by the obtained parameter estimates for the factors. An assessment of potential economic effects can be used to make a decision on whether a country should join an international organization. In particular, based on the assessments in our study in trade with Russia the expected increase in Belarus exports upon joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will constitute an increase of nearly 5%, exports to Kazakhstan are expected to increase by almost 75%, and to India and China by almost 90%. In the context of reshaping of international associations and organizations, the problems and issues raised in the study become even more relevant.

The study evaluates to what extent logistics performance and its components impact Vietnam’s bilateral export value. The augmented Gravity model is applied on panel data in the period from 2010 to 2018. Logistics efficiency is measured by Logistic performance index (LPI) and its sub-indices developed by the World Bank. A variety of diagnostic tests and estimation methods are employed to ensure the stability of the results. The main findings confirm that all explanatory variables demonstrate the expected signs, and aggregate logistics performance and its sub-indices have positive impacts on Vietnam’s export flows, with the magnitude of logistics impacts is greater than other factors in the research model. Among LPI components of Vietnam, Ease of arranging shipments index is the most influential factor on exports, followed by Infrastructure, Timeliness, and Quality of logistics services. These export’s effects are also identified by partners’ LPI indicators namely Quality of logistics services, Customs, Infrastructure, and Tracking and tracing.

The development of the personal innovative competences in workers is of capital importance for the competitiveness of organizations, where the ability of the employees must respond in an innovative way to diverse situations that arise in specific contexts. Considering this, the question arises: How do innovative employees’ competences affect the sustainable development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)? Therefore, the objective of this work is to present a multi-criteria method based on the Analytic Network Process (ANP), to relate innovative personal competences and the sustainable development of MSMEs. An instrument was applied to groups of experts from 31 Ecuadorian fruit-exporting MSMEs, to develop a multi-criteria decisional network that allowed identifying the innovative personal abilities that have the greatest impact on the sustainable development of these organizations. The results demonstrate the relevance of the elements of innovative personal competencies, with a cumulative participation of 39.15%, Sustainable Export Development with 32.18% and Improvements with 28.66%. It also presents three types of analysis: i) Global to establish the weight of each variable; ii) Influences, to establish solid cause-effect relationships between the variables and iii) Integrated. The most relevant innovative personal competences for sustainable development and improvements for exporting SMEs are teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity within the international context.