Open and transparent food commodity markets and efficient supply chains are paramount to ensure that everyone has access to adequate, safe and nutritious food during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today at the opening of the 74th Session of the FAO's Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP).

"The pandemic has resulted in a dual shock to food and agricultural markets, hitting both: supply and demand," Qu said. He pointed out that the measures introduced to control the virus caused disruptions to agri-food supply chains affecting the global trading system and, in particular, the least developed countries that depend on trade for their food security.

To this end, the Director-General noted that FAO's work under the mandate of the Committee on Commodity Problems helped to calm markets and guide policy decisions, by providing up-to-date information on market conditions, monitoring policy developments, and proposing policy options to avoid the health crisis turning into a global food crisis.

Referring to the pandemic as "an astonishing wake-up call on the fragility of our agri-food systems and the vulnerabilities we face," the Director-General stressed that the current crisis also provided an opportunity to redouble and refocus global efforts to build back better.

"It made it clear that business-as-usual is no longer a viable option, and that we must change our food consumption and production patterns," the FAO chief said alluding to the challenge of transforming global agri-food systems towards safer and more nutritious food for everyone, while ensuring environmental sustainability.

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