- ➔ During the last two decades, food and agricultural trade increased significantly. In 2021, nearly 5 000 trillion kilocalories were traded, more than double the energy traded in 2000. Daily per capita food trade increased from 930 kcal in 2000 to 1 640 kcal in 2021. The value of food and agricultural trade increased fivefold, reaching USD 1.9 trillion in 2022.
- ➔ Trends in global food trade followed nutrition transition trends. The share of staple foods traded decreased from 48 percent in 2000 to around 42 percent in 2021. Globally, unprocessed and minimally processed foods contributed to 65 percent of the calories traded in 2021. Ultra-processed and processed foods accounted for 7 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
- ➔ Food imports remain critical for food security and nutrition. With the increase in food trade, more nutrients are exchanged across the world. Between 2000 and 2021, per capita trade in vitamin C and calcium increased by almost 90 percent.
- ➔ Food trade can affect nutrition through multiple pathways. Openness to food trade promotes higher availability, greater diversity and a more stable food supply throughout seasons. It can lower prices and improve access to food. Trade also affects the wider economy, spurring economic growth and accelerating the nutrition transition.
- ➔ The linkages between trade and diets and the resulting nutrition outcomes are intricate and vary across countries. Trade openness can help reduce the prevalence of stunting in children under five years of age, while its association with obesity is more ambiguous and context-specific. Economic growth reduces stunting, and, at the same time, can increase the prevalence of obesity.
Patterns and evolution of food trade
Trade is an integral part of our agrifood systems, where it fulfils a fundamental function: it moves food from surplus to deficit regions, thus contributing to food security globally. Global food markets facilitate the supply of sufficient, safe and diverse food to people across countries, generating income for farmers and those employed in the food and agricultural sectors. How many and which foods are traded depends on a multitude of factors, most importantly an intricate interplay of demand and supply.
Globalization and trade increased between 2000 and 2022 (see Part 1). World merchandise export value increased almost fourfold; merchandise export volume doubled (Figure 2.1). Food and agricultural trade nearly quintupled, rising from USD 400 billion in 2000 to USD 1.9 trillion in 2022.m In 2022, food trade made up around 85 percent of all trade in food and agriculture. The energy it carried more than doubled between 2000 and 2021, reaching almost 5 000 trillion kilocalories in 2021.n Adjusted for global population growth, food trade increased from 930 kcal per capita per day in 2000 to 1 640 kcal per capita per day in 2021 (Figure 2.3).
FIGURE 2.1Merchandise and food and agricultural trade, 2000–2022
Most countries both import and export foods and depend on trade in both ways – on imports to ensure food availability and diversity and on exports to promote livelihoods in export-oriented sectors, fuelling the economy. Net trade position patterns are largely driven by natural resource endowments, climatic conditions for agricultural production, population density and productivity.
Large countries with relatively low population density such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Russian Federation and the United States tend to be net calorie exporters – they produce more food than they consume (Figure 2.2). Population-dense countries such as China and India, regions with unfavourable agroecological conditions such as Northern Africa and Western Asia, and regions with low productivity such as sub-Saharan Africa tend to be net food importers. Some countries critically depend on food imports to feed their population. These are countries with arid climates in Northern Africa and Western Asia where net imports as a share of total food supply, expressed in calories, can reach over 50 percent.
FIGURE 2.2Share of net food imports in total domestic supply (in kcal), 2020, percent
Refer to the disclaimer on the copyright page for the names and boundaries used in this map. Dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. Final boundary between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined.
SOURCE: Authors' own elaboration based on FAO. 2024. FAOSTAT: Supply Utilization Accounts. [Accessed on 15 February 2024]. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/SCL. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
What foods are traded?
It is not only trade’s role in ensuring calorie availability and livelihoods that is important for nutrition, but also which foods are traded (see Part 3). Trade increased in all food categories between 2000 and 2021. For example, trade in staple foods increased from 444 kcal per day per capita in 2000 to 697 in 2021. Trade in animal source foods was 37 kcal per day per capita in 2000 increasing to 64 in 2021 (Figure 2.3, see Box 2.1 for a description of the food categories). Staple foods account for the largest share of calories traded.
FIGURE 2.3Evolution of trade by food category (based on daily per capita energy content), world, 2000–2021
BOX 2.1Food categories in this report
Food categories in this report are defined based on the FAO/World Health Organization (WHO) Global Individual Food consumption data Tool (FAO/WHO GIFT)96, 97 food group classification. GIFT food groups combine foods of different processing levels. This is an important limitation for the interpretation of trade flows because in some of the groups no distinction can be made between imports for food, feed, processing or other uses (for example, industrial or biofuels). For the analyses in this report, the food groups have been further aggregated to form eight aggregate food categories. Table 2.1 provides an overview of these food categories, along with examples of the most-traded items in each of the categories.
TABLE 2.1FOOD CATEGORIES USED IN THE REPORT
SOURCES: Adapted from FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO. 2023. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 – Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3017en; FAO. 2022. FAO/WHO Global Individual Food consumption data Tool (GIFT): methodological document. Rome, FAO. https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/6a38654d-c398-4ea7-8bde-cd477dc2823f
However, reflecting the nutrition transition, the share of staple foods in global food trade decreased from 48 percent in 2000 to around 42 percent in 2021, while the shares of fats and oils, and pulses, seeds and nuts increased (see Part 1 for a discussion on the nutrition transition). Trade in sweets and beverages as a share of traded calories decreased slightly.o In the other food categories, including animal source foods, fruits and vegetables, the shares in global food trade remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2021.
In 2021, staple foods accounted for the bulk of calories imported in both the group of high-income countries and the group of low- and middle-income countries (Figure 2.4). In line with the nutrition transition in low- and middle-income countries, the share of calories from staple food imports declined from more than 53 percent in 2000 to around 44 percent in 2021. For high-income countries, which underwent a nutrition transition before the 2000s, this reduction was lower with a share of 43 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2021.
FIGURE 2.4Shares of imports by food categorY in all food imports (based on energy content and monetary value), 2000 AND 2021
As fruits and vegetables are low in calories, their shares in total calories traded are very low. In 2021, the share of fruit imports by high-income countries was 2.3 percent, that of vegetables amounted to 1.0 percent. However, in terms of value, fruits made up 11.5 percent of total imports, while vegetables accounted for 7.2 percent of total imports. In low- and middle-income countries, these shares were even lower, both in terms of calories (0.7 percent for fruits and 0.3 percent for vegetables) and value (Figure 2.4).
In terms of value, trade in sweets and beverages accounted for the largest share across the food categories globally (more than 22 percent of global trade value in 2021). Although in 2021, in high-income countries, sweets and beverages contributed 15 percent of imported calories, they made up 28 percent of import value in 2021. In low- and middle-income countries, the share of the import value of animal source foods was six times higher than their contribution to the share of imported calories.
Food trade by processing level
Foods can also be distinguished by processing level (see Box 2.2). Trade in food at all processing levels increased between 2000 and 2021 (Figure 2.5). Globally, unprocessed and minimally processed foods contributed to almost two thirds (65 percent) of the calories traded in 2021. The second largest share of traded calories was made up of processed culinary ingredients (around 27 percent), followed by ultra-processed (7 percent) and processed foods (1.4 percent). These shares remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2021.
BOX 2.2Food processing and the NOVA classification system
The term “food processing” involves applying scientific and technological principles to preserve foods by slowing down or stopping the natural processes of decay. Reasons for food processing include converting inedible raw materials into edible foods, increasing the digestibility of raw foods (e.g. through cooking), ensuring food safety, altering the shelf-life (e.g. through fermentation, canning or freezing), simplifying meal preparation, improving transportability, or increasing the palatability of food products (e.g. by adding flavourings). The degree of food processing can vary from unprocessed raw foods (e.g. fresh fruit eaten as such) to food products with ingredients that are derived from food but contain little or no whole food (e.g. extruded cereals).98
Numerous food processing classification systems exist. Among them are food classification systems that emphasize industrial food processing, whereby foods are categorized according to processing-related criteria, with each employing different criteria and metrics. The NOVA food classification is one of the available food processing classification systems that has been widely used in public health, nutrition and epidemiological research. The definition of food processing levels, as proposed by NOVA, is complex and multidimensional. This increases the risk of misclassifying food items,99 and makes study of the associations between NOVA and health outcomes also complex.
NOVA’s first food processing category combines unprocessed and minimally processed foods. This is an important limitation of NOVA particularly for the interpretation of trade flows, because in some of the categories no distinction can be made between imports for food, feed, processing or other uses (for example, industrial or biofuels). Results, particularly of the unprocessed and minimally processed foods in this report, therefore, should be interpreted with caution.
For this report, the NOVA food processing classification was applied to all 445 items considered as food in FAOSTAT’s supply utilization accounts, whereby all foods were classified according to the nature, extent and purpose of the industrial processing they undergo. A brief overview of the four NOVA processing levels, with examples of foods used in this analysis, follows.
- Unprocessed and minimally processed foods: Unprocessed foods are of plant or animal origin, consumed shortly after harvesting, gathering or slaughter. Minimally processed foods are unprocessed foods altered in ways that do not add or introduce any substance but may involve subtracting parts of the food. Examples of unprocessed and minimally processed foods include fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables, pulses and meat; dried and fresh milk and milk products such as plain yoghurt; eggs; grains (cereals); flours and pastas. Maize, wheat, soya beans, milled rice and barley are the most traded products in the group of unprocessed and minimally processed foods.
- Processed culinary ingredients: Processed culinary ingredients are those that are extracted and purified by industry from constituents of foods, or else obtained from nature such as salt. Examples include vegetable oils crushed from seeds, nuts or fruits (notably olives); butter obtained from milk and lard from pork; sugar and molasses obtained from cane or beet. The most traded items in the category of processed culinary ingredients are palm oil, raw cane or beet sugar, soya bean oil, crude sunflower-seed oil and refined sugar.
- Processed foods: These foods are manufactured by adding salt or sugars or other substances of culinary use such as oils or vinegar to whole foods to make them more durable and sometimes to modify their palatability. Examples include vegetables preserved in brine, fruits preserved in syrup; salted nuts; unreconstituted processed meat such as ham and bacon; cheese; fresh unpackaged breads; beer, cider and wine. Many of the highly traded foods considered as processed foods are high-value products such as cheese, beer, wine, prepared fruits, vegetables and nuts.
- Ultra-processed foods and drink products: These products are formulated mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods or other organic sources and typically contain little or no whole foods. Examples include many types of sweets, fatty or salty snack products; ice cream, chocolates, candies (confectionery); sausages; soft drinks, spirits. The most traded ultra-processed foods are pastry, chocolate products, hydrogenated oils and fats (i.e. those that have undergone modification beyond crushing), and various food and fat preparations.
SOURCES: Adapted from FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO. 2023. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 – Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3017en; Monteiro, C.A., Cannon, G., Lawrence, M., Costa Louzada, M.L. & Pereira Machado, P. 2019. Ultra-processed foods, diet quality, and health using the NOVA classification system. Rome, FAO. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/5277b379-0acb-4d97-a6a3-602774104629/content
FIGURE 2.5Evolution of food trade by processing level (based on daily per capita energy content), world, 2000–2021
There are considerable differences in the trade patterns of foods by level of processing of high-income countries compared to low- and middle-income countries (Figure 2.6). In 2021, the share of total calories from unprocessed and minimally processed foods imported by high-income countries amounted to around 60 percent, while this was almost 70 percent in low- and middle-income countries. Both country income groups imported about the same share of processed culinary ingredients, which are used for further processing in the domestic industry or for food preparation at home (around 27 percent). Globally, imports of ultra-processed and processed foods in low- and middle-income countries comprised only 4 percent and 0.5 percent of total calories traded, respectively. These shares were much higher in high-income countries.
FIGURE 2.6Shares of imports by processing level in all food imports (based on energy content and monetary value), 2000 AND 2021
Trade patterns according to food processing levels have not significantly changed in either income group between 2000 and 2021, except that high-income countries showed a declining trend of imported calories from unprocessed and minimally processed foods, while the relative shares of imported calories in the other processing levels increased, especially those of ultra-processed products (from 8 percent of all traded calories in 2000 to 12 percent in 2021).
Processed foods are relatively expensive, as reflected in their trade values (see Part 3). While imports of ultra-processed foods accounted for 12 percent of all imports in terms of calories in high-income countries in 2021, their value made up 29 percent of the total value of imported foods (Figure 2.6). Similarly, ultra-processed foods contributed around 4 percent of calories imported, but 16 percent of the food import value in low- and middle-income countries in 2021.p
Food trade and nutrient movements
Food trade plays an important role in contributing to the supply of nutrients around the world (see Part 3). With the increase in food trade, there has been a corresponding rise in the trade of nutrients. For example, per capita trade in vitamin C and calcium from food increased by almost 90 percent between 2000 and 2021.q, 61 The trade in these two micronutrients exhibits a characteristic pattern. Generally, food trade among countries in the same region tends to be higher than with countries in other regions, as geographical proximity lowers transport and other trade costs.62 This is also evident in the trade of most micronutrients. For example, intraregional trade makes up around 70 percent of all European vitamin C imports from food. Only 30 percent are sourced from other regions. Nevertheless, persistent deficits can lead to interregional trade, despite this being more costly.
When examining trade between different regions, Europe and Northern America stand out as the world’s top importers of vitamin C from food in absolute terms (Figure 2.7). These imports are mainly sourced from southern hemisphere regions. Northern American interregional vitamin C imports primarily come from Latin America and the Caribbean, while Europe imports from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. This pattern is reversed in the case of the interregional trade of calcium. Asia is the region with the highest interregional calcium imports from food, followed by Europe and Africa. Asia primarily imports calcium from Europe and Northern America, with significant amounts also coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania (Figure 2.8). Africa sources calcium from all other regions, with the highest shares coming from Europe.
FIGURE 2.7Patterns of trade between regions: Vitamin C from European and Northern American food imports, 2021
SOURCE: Authors' own elaboration based on FAO. 2024. FAOSTAT: Detailed trade matrix. [Accessed on 15 May 2023]. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/TM. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
FIGURE 2.8Patterns of trade between regions: Calcium from African and Asian food imports, 2021
SOURCE: Authors' own elaboration based on FAO. 2024. FAOSTAT: Detailed trade matrix. [Accessed on 15 May 2023]. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/TM. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
Many low- and middle-income countries are net importers of food. Relatively low agricultural productivity, rapid population growth and increasing income levels imply that low- and middle-income countries as a group deepened their net import position in the last two decades.63 This is also visible in their nutrient flows, measured on a daily per capita basis, that is accounting for population growth (Figure 2.9).
FIGURE 2.9Nutrient net imports from food of low- and middle-income countries, 2001 and 2020
SOURCE: Authors' own elaboration based on Traverso, S. (forthcoming). Food trade, macronutrient prices, trade tariffs and the price of food imports – Background paper for The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2024. Rome, FAO.
In the early 2000s, net imports of low- and middle-income countries amounted to 60 kcal/capita/day. By the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century this number had risen to almost 90 kcal/capita/day. This probably reflects the nutrition transition of an increasingly affluent population. Net imports of proteins increased, from around 3.5 g/capita/day in 2001 to 10 g/capita/day in 2020. During the same period, net imports of carbohydrates increased slightly, while the group of low- and middle-income countries became a net exporter of fats.
Net imports of many minerals from foods increased significantly between 2001 and 2020, particularly those of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. While the group of low- and middle-income countries was a net exporter of vitamin A from food at the beginning of the twenty-first century, this had changed by 2020, when around 4 µg of vitamin A per capita per day were imported. For vitamin C, the group is a net exporter.
Different trade patterns and the exchange of foods and nutrients between high-income and low- and middle-income countries constitute a defining feature of global food trade (see also Part 3) and play an important role in the trade of aquatic products (see Box 2.3).
BOX 2.3Trade of aquatic products and nutrition
Importance of aquatic foods for nutrition
While this report focuses on terrestrial foods, which supply most of the food consumed globally, aquatic foods – including animals and algae farmed in and harvested from water – are important for a healthy and balanced diet. Aquatic foods have significant positive nutritional impacts as they provide essential nutrients that are scarce in plant-based diets. For example, aquatic foods provide high-quality proteins and essential amino acids, vitamins (particularly A, B and D), and minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc, iodine, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and selenium, and are primary dietary sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Diverse aquatic foods play an important role in ensuring food security and nutrition while providing livelihoods to people around the world.100, 101
Globally, aquatic animal foods supplied 15 percent of animal protein and 6 percent of all protein in 2021.102 They play an important role as a source of animal protein, especially in lower-income countries. The share of protein from aquatic animal foods in the diets of low- and middle-income countries tends to be greater than in the diets of high-income countries. Aquatic foods can be sourced from both capture fisheries and aquaculture. In 2022, for the first time in history, the global aquaculture production of aquatic animals surpassed capture fisheries production, with aquaculture contributing 57 percent to the amount used for human consumption.
Trade of aquatic products
The trade of aquatic products is significant, as it allows many countries to access larger quantities and a wider diversity of aquatic foods that may not be available domestically. There has been a substantial increase in the share of aquatic animal production that is being traded internationally. This share increased from 25 percent in the mid-1970s to almost 38 percent in 2022.103
In most regions, the majority of countries have a low export share of aquatic products in total food and agricultural trade (Figure 2.10). As an exception, the small island developing states of the Bahamas, Cabo Verde, Maldives and Seychelles feature very high shares of aquatic products in their total food and agricultural exports. Also, many Oceanian countries strongly depend on exports of aquatic products.
FIGURE 2.10Share of exports and imports of aquatic products in total food and agricultural trade, by region, 2021
SOURCES: Authors' own elaboration based on FAO. 2024. FishStat: Global aquatic trade. [Accessed on 16 October 2023]. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/statistics/software/fishstatj; FAO. 2024. FAOSTAT: Trade – Crops and livestock products. [Accessed on 15 May 2023]. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/TCL. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
The importance of exports of aquatic products in a country strongly depends on its natural endowments in terms of access to the sea and inland water resources, as well as to the possibility of aquaculture development. This explains the large variance in export shares of aquatic products across countries. Imports of aquatic products are more determined by consumer tastes and preferences. Across all regions, the share of imports of aquatic products in total food and agricultural imports is relatively stable at around 4 to 10 percent.
Historically, an important feature of trade flows in aquatic foods has been the role of low- and middle-income countries as suppliers to high-income countries. The value and quantity of aquatic products imported by high-income countries as a group are much higher than those imported by low- and middle-income countries (Figure 2.11). Research has shown that lower-income countries tend to export high-value aquatic products to high-income countries and import lower-value aquatic products from high-income countries in turn.104 In fact, export quantities of both groups are about the same, while average import values in high-income countries are much higher than in the group of low- and middle-income countries (Figure 2.11). On average, high-income countries tend to import higher-value aquatic products and export lower-value aquatic products, while the opposite holds for low- and middle-income countries. Similar patterns have been found for the trade in terrestrial products (see nutritional arbitrage in Part 3).105
FIGURE 2.11Value and quantity of aquatic products trade, 1976–2021
SOURCE: Authors' own elaboration based on FAO. 2024. FishStat: Global aquatic trade. [Accessed on 16 October 2023]. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/statistics/software/fishstatj. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
