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
No. 24 Trade and Food Standards
11/07/2017
Trade and food standards. This brief emphasizes the importance of applying international food safety standards, and how these standards are applied in the context of WTO agreements based on the jointly prepared publication by FAO and WTO.
No. 23 The changing patterns of agricultural trade
09/05/2017
This brief describes trends in agri-food trade globally and by country income group with a focus on trade patterns of low-income countries.
No. 22 Agricultural markets: trends and outlook
11/04/2017
This brief discusses the major trends and prospects in agricultural production, consumption, trade and prices based on the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026.
No. 21 WTO Agreement on Agriculture: Export Competition after the Nairobi Ministerial Conference
08/03/2017
The Ministerial Decision on Export Competition introduced prohibitions to agricultural export subsidies. It foresees the elimination of export subsidies in different timeframes for developed and developing countries. Specific exceptions have been agreed upon for some products and for particular developed and developing members. The Decision also covers the other three elements (namely Export Credits and Guarantees,
No. 20 How can governance be improved for trade and food security?
14/02/2017
This policy brief provides an overview of the different food security objectives that underlie the use of trade and related policy measures, based on Chapter 3 of the State of Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2016.
No. 19 How can trade and related policies be used to contribute to food security objectives?
09/08/2016
This policy brief provides an overview of the different food security objectives that underlie the use of trade and related policy measures, based on Chapter 3 of the State of Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2016.
No. 18 How is agricultural trade evolving and what are the food security implications?
13/07/2016
This policy brief provides an overview of the trends in agricultural trade, and the implications for food security, based on Chapter 1 of the State of Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2016.
No. 17 - How does agricultural trade impact food security?
13/07/2016
This brief is in continuation of the "Trade Policy Briefs" (link: http://www.fao.org/economic/est/publications/trade-policy-briefs/en/ ) of which the last issue was No.16.
No. 16 The Bali Package - implications for trade and food security
14/06/2016
In December 2013, agreement was reached on a small number of issues under negotiation in the long-running Doha Round of WTO Negotiations. The set of issues, broadly known as the Bali package after the location of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference during which the agreement was reached, comprised three main components, one of which related to the use of public procurement for food stockholding which can be used by developing countries in pursuit of food security objectives.
No. 14 Consideration in the reform of agricultural trade policy in low income developing countries
12/12/2014
Many developing countries are currently under pressure to reduce their trade barriers to the entry of agricultural products. This pressure comes both as a result of ongoing trade negotiations (multilateral, plurilateral or bilateral) and due to policy advice from donors and international organizations based on the assumption that a liberal agricultural trade policy is necessary to allow growth through trade expansion.