Despite strong agricultural productivity and ample grain stocks worldwide, numerous countries have applied food export restrictions for fear that supplies will run short during the Covid-19 pandemic. As of today, nearly 20 countries have instituted food export restrictions; the number grows daily.
This echoes of 2007 and 2008, when some governments applied export bans on grain commodities amid rising global food prices. The price of these staples doubled within a period of six months, increasing the number of undernourished people by 150 million worldwide.
The Covid-19 pandemic is a starkly different context than 2007-2008, but today’s export restrictions force us to ask: Are we heading toward another global food price crisis?
Please join us for a discussion on Covid-19 implications for global food security and agricultural trade. Following opening remarks from CSIS Global Food Security Program Director Caitlin Welsh, three experts will share their perspectives on the role of governments and industry in averting another global food price crisis.---------------------------------------------------------------------
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