Policy responses

Export restrictions (bans and quotas), taxes (ad valorem or specific), and others; Minimum export price (MEP); State trading enterprises (STE)
- Argentina: used tax (ad valorem and variable), quotas and bans on wheat, maize, soybean, sunflower seeds
- China: used tax (ad valorem) and quota/ license on rice, wheat, maize, flour
- India: used MEP and STE for basmati rice; used bans, MEP and STE for ordinary rice; and ban, quotas and STE for wheat
- Egypt: used tax (specific), quota and ban for rice
- Pakistan: used MEP on basmati and ordinary rice; tax (ad valorem), quota and ban on wheat
- Russia: used tax (ad valorem) and ban on wheat, maize, barley, flour; used tax (ad valorem) on rapeseed
- Ukraine: used quotas on wheat, maize, barley
- Vietnam: used MEP, export quota, ban, tax (variable), STE on rice
- Several other countries used bans, MEP, taxes, STE, mostly on cereals, but also on sugar, beans, oils, cattle

Links and references

http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/est/PUBLICATIONS/Comm_Working_Papers/EST-WP32.pdf

Pros *Short run: export restrictions can have the immediate effect of increasing supplies in the domestic market, addressing concerns about domestic food availability and increasing prices

Cons *Short-run: when put in place by several countries simultaneously, export restrictions can lead to lower global supply and higher international prices. *Medium to long run: lower producer prices and uncertain policy environment create disincentives for producers to invest in next production cycle *Medium to long run: loss of confidence in international markets, resulting in renewed focus, particularly among import-dependent countries, on food self-sufficiency as a means to achieving national food security (e.g. Phillippines, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Malaysia, and Mongolia)

Minimum conditions Impacts depend on the size/share in world exports, i.e. policies adopted by major exporters (e.g. Argentina, India, Kazakhstan) can have larger impacts on global markets, while countries with smaller exportable surpluses (e.g. Zambia, Malawi, and Ecuador) can also be important for regional markets