Picture: Collected
Trade plays a vital role in our everyday lives. It connects
food systems and people and provides consumers with sufficient, diverse and
nutritious food. It also generates income and employment for farmers, workers
and traders around the world.
During the pandemic, international trade continued to link
food deficit areas to surplus regions, contributing to food security and
nutrition. But the war in Ukraine is threatening multilateral cooperation and
risks fragmenting the global food market.
How can trade policies in food and agriculture address
today's challenges and how can they contribute to long-term sustainable
development for all?
The changing nature
of food and agricultural trade
Between the first years of the new millennium and 2008, the
global trade of goods and services became more important in the world economy
and during this time, trade increased rapidly. However, since the financial
crisis in 2008, this globalization process has been stagnant.
Food and agricultural trade expanded rapidly in the 2000s,
with more countries trading with each other and greater participation of low-
and middle-income countries.
Countries expanded their participation in global food and
agricultural trade and the landscape and geography of trade has changed.
The evolution of
global food and agricultural trade, 1995-2020
Between 1995 and 2019, the structure of the global network
of food and agricultural trade became more decentralized. In 1995, a few large
trading hubs dominated the trade network. Over time, more hubs emerged and the
dominance of the individual hubs weakened.
Regionalization of food and agricultural trade - the
tendency of countries to trade more within a region than with countries outside
the region - increased between 1995 and 2019.
Countries formed different trade clusters within which they tend to trade more. These clusters are often shaped by geographic proximity and economic integration fostered by trade agreements.
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