Mitigating impacts of COVID-19 on food trade, markets

(Food and Agriculture Organisation, 31 March 2020, Rome/Geneva) – Millions of people around the world depend on international trade for their food security and livelihoods. As countries move to enact measures aiming to halt the accelerating COVID-19 pandemic, care must be taken to minimise potential impacts on the food supply or unintended consequences on global trade and food security.

When acting to protect the health and well-being of their citizens, countries should ensure that any trade-related measures do not disrupt the food supply chain. Such disruptions including hampering the movement of agricultural and food industry workers and extending border delays for food containers, result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste.

The Agriculture Ministers & other stakeholders met in a special session of the COTED on Thursday via videoconference to consider https://t.co/lkrEgAqBP4 the impact the pandemic was likely to have on food & nutrition security in the Region.

— Caribbean Community (CARICOM) (@CARICOMorg) March 24, 2020

Food trade restrictions could also be linked to unjustified concerns on food safety. If such a scenario were to materialize, it would disrupt the food supply chain, with particularly pronounced consequences for the most vulnerable and food insecure populations.

Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market. Such reactions can alter the balance between food supply and demand, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility. We learned from previous crises that such measures are particularly damaging for low-income, food-deficit countries and to the efforts of humanitarian organizations to procure food for those in desperate need.

Read more at: Food and Agriculture Organisation

Source: CARICOM TODAY