Five takeaways from the WTO seminar on food security (Trade Beta Blog) 

Trade Beta Blog published a recap of the WTO seminar on food security. Trade experts warned that countries should avoid reacting hastily to the food security challenge posed by the war in Ukraine and avoid worsening the crisis. The impact of the war in Ukraine in 2022 is now well-known: a crisis in supply, prices, and food security in many countries. This contrasts with the 2020–21 responses to the COVID-19 pandemic when trade restrictions were short-lived and agricultural trade was more resilient than some other sectors. But the trend was already worsening in some parts of the world because of economic problems and conflict elsewhere. Later, there was a discussion over public stockholding for food security. The problem is the much narrower question of how the stocks are acquired. If the government sets the prices for buying into its stocks, this is considered to be trade-distorting domestic support under WTO rules. That right [to hold stocks] is not disputed,” one speaker replied. But “those public stockholding programs should not damage other countries’ food security or cause distortions.” Valeria Piñeiro, senior research coordinator, also accepted that buffer stocks are needed but said governments “are not great” at handling them. Buying and selling on the market is better.”