How Food Export Restrictions Could Worsen a Looming Food Crisis

The document examines the impact of COVID-19-related food export restrictions on vulnerable importing nations. It identifies high-risk areas in Central Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa, noting that many affected countries already suffer from high undernourishment and calorie production deficits. The authors argue that because global food stocks remain plentiful, countries should refrain from banning staple food exports to prevent hunger and potential famines.

• Export restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected several low-income and fragile states. In Central Asia, countries such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan have been hit, while in North Africa and the Middle East, affected nations include Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen. In sub-Saharan Africa, the impact has been particularly significant for Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi.
• The vulnerability of importing countries is heightened when export restrictions coincide with high existing levels of undernourishment. For instance, 62% of the population in the Central African Republic is undernourished, and over 40% of the population is undernourished in Madagascar, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• Many regions face a calorie production deficit, meaning they rely on imported calories to meet domestic demand. This dependency is prevalent across most countries in Africa and the Middle East, much of South and East Asia, the Caribbean, the Andean region of South America, and parts of Europe including Scandinavia.
• Despite warnings of potential famines, there is no immediate justification for food export bans because global food stocks are plentiful, harvests are expected to be large, and oil prices are low.

APA

Hepburn, J., Laborde, D., Parent, M., & Smaller, C. (2020). How Food Export Restrictions Could Worsen a Looming Food Crisis. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/food-export-restrictions-worsen-food-crisis.pdf

Chicago

Hepburn, Jonathan, David Laborde, Marie Parent, and Carin Smaller. How Food Export Restrictions Could Worsen a Looming Food Crisis. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/food-export-restrictions-worsen-food-crisis.pdf.

Wikipedia

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

BibTeX

@techreport{hepburn2020how, author = {Hepburn, Jonathan and Laborde, David and Parent, Marie and Smaller, Carin}, title = {{How Food Export Restrictions Could Worsen a Looming Food Crisis}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-08/food-export-restrictions-worsen-food-crisis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }