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The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2022

The geography of food and agricultural trade: Policy approaches for sustainable development











The following complementary information is also available:

  • Read the Background paper: International food trade and natural resources
  • Read the Background paper: The impact of changes in the fundamental drivers of trade – Productivity, trade costs, and trade policies
  • Read the Background paper: The evolution of the global structure of food and agricultural trade – Evidence from network analysis
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    FAO. 2022. The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2022. The geography of food and agricultural trade:Policy approaches for sustainable development. Rome, FAO.





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      Book (stand-alone)
      The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2018
      Agricultural trade, climate change and food security
      2018
      Global agricultural trade has increased significantly in value terms since 2000. Its pattern has also changed – emerging economies and developing countries play a bigger role in international markets, and South–South agricultural trade has expanded significantly. Climate change is expected to affect agriculture, food security and nutrition unevenly across countries and regions. Changes in comparative advantage in agriculture around the world will also affect international trade. This edition of The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets focuses on the complex and underexplored intersection between agricultural trade, climate change and food security. The report makes an important contribution to the policy debates on climate change adaptation and mitigation under the Paris Agreement and the multilateral agricultural trade rules. The report discusses policies – both domestic support and trade measures – that can promote food security, adaptation and mitigation, and improve the livelihoods of family farmers around the world. Given both the slow- and rapid-onset impacts of climate change, policies that can significantly promote climate change adaptation and mitigation would benefit from deeper discussions in international fora on how to strengthen the mutually supportive role of trade rules and climate interventions.
    • Thumbnail Image
      Book (stand-alone)
      The impact of changes in the fundamental drivers of trade – Productivity, trade costs, and trade policies
      Background paper for The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2022
      2022
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      Countries’ varying natural resource endowments are vital in explaining international trade. Traditional trade theory suggests that differences in technology and factor endowments lead countries to specialize and export certain goods or services in which they have a comparative advantage. The computable general equilibrium (CGE) model simulations used in this paper aim to explain agricultural trade patterns and show how agricultural trade would change in response to productivity, infrastructure and institutions improvements and trade cost changes from regional and global trade liberalization. A set of nine scenarios is used to explore the effects of productivity, transport costs, non-tariff barriers (NTB), and border measures changes on agricultural and food trade and related welfare implications. Policies driving agricultural productivity growth such as investments in research and development, economic reforms that strengthen incentives for farmers, rural education and extension, and improved infrastructure are shown to reduce the yield gap and improve productivity. Lower trade costs help comparative advantage play out, resulting in gains from trade. Measures taken to increase trade integration in Africa and Asia will be important for economic growth and development in these regions.
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      Book (series)
      The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020
      Agricultural markets and sustainable development: Global value chains, smallholder farmers and digital innovations
      2020
      The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020 (SOCO 2020) aims to discuss policies and mechanisms that promote sustainable outcomes – economic, social and environmental – in agricultural and food markets, both global and domestic. The analysis is organized along the trends and challenges that lie at the heart of global discussions on trade and development. These include the evolution of trade and markets; the emergence of global value chains in food and agriculture; the extent to which smallholder farmers in developing countries participate in value chains and markets; and the transformative impacts of digital technology on markets. Along these themes, SOCO 2020 discusses policies and institutions that can promote inclusive economic growth and also harness markets to contribute towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

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