Agricultural trade rules “should be crafted with an eye to improving countries’ food security and other development objectives,” said the Food and Agriculture Organization in releasing the biennial update of one of its flagship reports.
“Global trade in food and agricultural products has grown almost three-fold in value terms over the past decade and rates of growth are projected to continue to rise, with some regions increasing net exports and others increasing net imports,” said FAO in a summary of “State of Agricultural Commodity Markets.” Greater participation in global food and agriculture trade is inevitable, it said. “However, the process of opening to trade, and its consequences, will need to be appropriately managed if trade is to work in favor of improve food security outcomes.”
FAO said the tripling in trade was driven in particular by fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products – “all high-value categories where standards are typically more important than in staple commodities such as cereal grains.”
“On top of that, there are changes in economic geography. Latin America has become the largest net exporter of food, replacing North America, and ushering in a new political map of South-South trade flows. Meanwhile, regional trade agreements have proliferated, and while agricultural commodity imports tend to be dispersed among many countries, exports are concentrated in a few – such as Brazil with sugar, or the United States with coarse grains – which makes supply more vulnerable to sudden disruptions,” said FAO.