COVID-19 and Food Export Restrictions

The document analyzes the scale and nature of food export restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis compared to the 2007/08 period. It finds that while 22 countries imposed restrictions in 2020, the overall impact on globally traded calories and monetary value is significantly lower than in 2008. The brief notes that current food availability challenges are driven more by logistical disruptions than the supply shortages and high energy prices that characterized the previous crisis.

• The scale of food export restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic is smaller than during the 2007/08 crisis, both in terms of the number of countries involved and the volume of food affected. Twenty-two countries imposed restrictions in 2020 compared to 33 in 2007/08, with the share of globally traded calories affected being approximately 5%, which is "just over a quarter of the level affected in 2007/08".
• The monetary value of food and farm goods affected by restrictions in 2020 is about half of what it was in 2007/08, totaling USD 21 billion compared to USD 43 billion.
• The economic drivers of food availability differ between the two periods: the 2007/08 crisis was marked by tight markets due to "high energy prices, biofuel blending mandates, and harvest failures", whereas the COVID-19 crisis is characterized by "logistical challenges in ensuring smooth functioning of food supply chains" resulting from health-related restrictions.
• While staple foods like wheat and rice remain primary targets for restrictions in both periods, the 2020 restrictions also targeted a variety of other products, including eggs, lemons, turnips, beer, spirits, pulses, flour, onions, garlic, beans, milk powder, vegetable oil, cheese, and yogurt.
• The geography of response measures has shifted; 12 countries imposed restrictions in both 2007/08 and 2020, while 9 countries that did not do so previously have imposed them in response to COVID-19.

APA

Hepburn, J., Laborde, D., Parent, M., & Smaller, C. (2020). COVID-19 and Food Export Restrictions. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/covid-19-food-export-restrictions.pdf

Chicago

Hepburn, Jonathan, David Laborde, Marie Parent, and Carin Smaller. COVID-19 and Food Export Restrictions. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/covid-19-food-export-restrictions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hepburn |first1=Jonathan |last2=Laborde |first2=David |last3=Parent |first3=Marie |last4=Smaller |first4=Carin |title=COVID-19 and Food Export Restrictions |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/covid-19-food-export-restrictions.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hepburn2020covid19, author = {Hepburn, Jonathan and Laborde, David and Parent, Marie and Smaller, Carin}, title = {{COVID-19 and Food Export Restrictions}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/covid-19-food-export-restrictions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }