Sustainable agricultural development lies at the very heart of FAO’s mission to achieve food security and ensure that people everywhere have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active and healthy lives.

The importance of South countries in global agrifood markets and trade has been increasing over the last two decades, with growth in their participation, as both exporters and importers, having outpaced that of North countries. South countries, as a group, are net exporters of fruits, vegetables, fats and oils, and tropical products such as coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar, and net importers of key food commodities such as cereals, meat and dairy products. These patterns reflect structural changes along the development path.