The Quest for Affordable Food: Prospects in the Doha Round for Net Food-importing Developing Countries

The document analyzes the relationship between agricultural trade policies and food security, specifically focusing on the vulnerabilities of net food-importing developing countries (NFIDCs) during the Doha Round of WTO negotiations. It argues that while some Doha Round flexibilities primarily benefit food-producing nations, the reduction of trade-distorting domestic support in developed countries could provide long-term food security by stabilizing prices and reducing biofuel-driven crop diversion.

• A global food crisis in 2008 was driven by a mismatch between demand and supply, resulting in significant price hikes: vegetable oil rose by 97%, cereals by 87%, and rice by 46% between 2002 and 2008.
• Net food-importing developing countries are the primary victims of rising food prices, with import bills for least-developed and net food-importing developing countries increasing by 125% between 2002–03 and 2007–08.
• Agricultural trade is the most distorted sector of global trade, characterized by high tariffs and domestic support. In 2003, OECD agricultural support was approximately $350 billion, roughly equal to the combined annual GDP of all sub-Saharan African countries.
• Under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), food-exporting members are required to 'give due consideration' to the food security of importers before restricting exports, but this is a non-enforceable 'best-endeavour clause' with no legal avenue for importers to challenge such measures.
• The Doha Round's Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) and the ability to designate 'special products' for lower tariff cuts primarily benefit food-producing countries rather than net food-importing developing countries, as these mechanisms raise import prices or protect domestic producers.
• The Revised Draft Modalities for Agriculture introduce more stringent limits on food export restrictions, including a general 12-month limit on new restrictions and a requirement to end existing restrictions within the first year of implementation.
• Reducing trade-distorting domestic support (Total AMS) in the EU, US, and Japan may cause short-term price increases for cereals in net food-importing developing countries (projected at 18% by the World Bank), but is viewed as a long-term solution to stabilize prices.
• Biofuel subsidies in OECD countries have diverted food crops from food markets to energy production, contributing to price increases; for example, the US consumed a quarter of its 2007 corn production for biofuels.
• The proposal to exempt net food-importing developing countries from Total AMS reduction commitments has limited practical utility, as only three such countries (Morocco, Tunisia, and Venezuela) had scheduled commitments under the Uruguay Round.

APA

Mulleta, F. F. (2010). The Quest for Affordable Food: Prospects in the Doha Round for Net Food-importing Developing Countries. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Occasional-Paper-54.pdf

Chicago

Mulleta, Fantu Farris. The Quest for Affordable Food: Prospects in the Doha Round for Net Food-importing Developing Countries. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2010. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Occasional-Paper-54.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mulleta |first1=Fantu Farris |title=The Quest for Affordable Food: Prospects in the Doha Round for Net Food-importing Developing Countries |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2010 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Occasional-Paper-54.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mulleta2010quest, author = {Mulleta, Fantu Farris}, title = {{The Quest for Affordable Food: Prospects in the Doha Round for Net Food-importing Developing Countries}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2010}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Occasional-Paper-54.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }