Markets and Trade

Featured publications

Trade, food security, and nutrition in Bhutan
06/08/2026

The brief forms part of the Bhutan country case study conducted under the FAO initiative “Trade and Sustainable Agrifood Systems”, funded by the Swiss...

No. 59 Advancing women’s participation in agrifood trade through inclusive policies
27/03/2026

Agrifood trade presents significant potential to enhance women’s economic participation and support broader development outcomes, particularly in low-...

No. 60 The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: FAO’s support to Members in its implementation
27/03/2026

The entry into force of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies represents a major development in global efforts to align trade policy with sustainable...

No. 61 The dynamic impact of global shipping costs on the food import bill
27/03/2026

Maritime transportation is essential for countries to access basic goods in global markets and to support food security and nutrition, as almost one-quarter...


Publications
08/10/2019

This policy brief is based on the FAO (2018) report “Policy coherence for agricultural transformation in African least developed countries: Aligning agriculture and trade policymaking processes”. The report presents the results of the Multi-partner Programme Support Mechanism (FMM) Project on Trade related capacity development for food security and nutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa, implemented by FAO and focusing on four least developed countries in Africa: Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia.

10/09/2019

This brief provides an overview of the potential of distributed ledger technologies to facilitate transactions in agricultural supply chains through enhanced traceability, efficiency, transparency and accountability.

10/09/2018

With agriculture accounting for roughly 70 percent of employment and 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in low-income countries, trade in agricultural products has the potential to significantly affect rural employment, incomes and poverty in these countries.

15/08/2018

Between 10 and 13 December 2017, Trade Ministers gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to participate in the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11). Following the conclusion of the meeting, this brief reports on its outcome, with particular reference to the negotiations on agriculture and fisheries.

11/07/2018

This brief discusses the application of voluntary sustainability standards in agriculture, fisheries and forestry trade.

05/12/2017

A discussion on the growing importance of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and the trends in the treatment of agriculture in RTAs.

07/11/2017

This brief discusses trade in fish and fishery products, in particular, trends in import and export, subsidies, tariff and non-tariff measures.

10/10/2017

This brief explains and explores the rationale and options for strengthening disciplines on export restrictions.

05/09/2017

This brief analyses the impact that non-tariff measures (NTMs) have on agri-food products and the disciplines on NTMs in the multilateral trading system.

08/08/2017

This brief provides an overview of the evolution in bound and applied tariffs with a focus on tariff escalation.