UNGA 73: Macroeconomic policy, trade and development

 

 

 

73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Second Committee
Macroeconomic policy, trade and development

 

 

Thank you for giving me the floor.

 

International trade has the potential to stabilize markets and reallocate food from surplus to deficit regions, helping countries adapt to climate change and contribute towards food security.

With this in mind, we must ensure that the evolution and expansion of agricultural trade is equitable and works for the elimination of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition globally.

It is for this reason that in recent years the relationship between agricultural trade and food security has become an increasing part of both trade and development agendas.

As we look to achieve the 2030 Agenda, global agri-food trade will play an increasingly important role in ensuring food security and adequate nutrition, especially for import-dependent regions.

The new edition of FAO’s State of Agricultural Commodity Markets flagship publication, SOCO, released last month, presents some of the key dynamics and trends in agricultural trade.

It shows that agricultural trade has almost tripled in value over the past 15 years, reaching 1.6 trillion US dollars in 2016, driven by economic and population growth, advances in transport, information and communication technology, and improvements in market access.

The report also highlights the importance of emerging economies in global agricultural markets. A key feature of the increased participation of middle- and low-income countries in these markets has been the rapid growth of South–South trade. The share of agricultural imports by middle and low-income countries sourced from other middle and low-income countries rose from 42 percent in 2000 to 54 percent in 2015.

However, within this group, Least Developed Countries still face significant challenges. Population and demand growth in recent years has outpaced agricultural productivity growth, making many LDCs become net agricultural importers. Between 2000 and 2015, agricultural imports of LDCs increased from about 2.5 billion to about 32.8 billion US dollars.

Productivity growth remains hindered by poor infrastructure, lack of productive technologies, lack of access to inputs, weak institutions and the impact of extreme and repeated climatic events.

The SOCO report highlights that considering the significant risks posed by climate change for food production, the role of trade will become even more significant. Trade can help balance food deficits and surpluses across countries, absorb domestic supply and demand shocks, and contribute to domestic and international price stability.

In the longer term, trade can facilitate changes in the location of production across regions when necessary because of the changing climate.

Finally, the report calls for the countries to assess all possible options and employ a range of measures to boost investments and promote sustainable agricultural productivity and adaptation, including through trade.

It will be important for policy makers, when formulating trade and related policies, to prioritize long-term structural transformation objectives that would help the countries achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Thank you for your attention.