How Climate Change is Disrupting the Global Food Chain

(upbeat music) - Hi, welcome to OEC News, the best place to understand and interact with the latest international trade data. There's a troubling trend for global food security. As climate change increases, we see more food nationalism. For example, when countries ban food exports to curb domestic inflation. This trend shows a reorganization of international trade patterns with nations reliant on food imports facing rising supply shortages. And the effects of food nationalism are more prominent for poorer countries in regions already experiencing significant food insecurity. Food export restrictions have disastrous unintended repercussions for vulnerable populations in food importing countries, raising costs and exasperating food insecurity concerns already inflamed by COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine. Let's take the example of India. Days after the Russian invasion, India banned sugar exports and restricted wheat exports. Yet India is the second largest exporter of sugar globally and the second largest wheat exporter in Asia. So these restrictions are affecting millions of people in several countries. For example, after the ban in India, Iran lost 83% of its sugar imports. Then facing high food inflation, Iran's government announced a ban on exports of tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and onions, affecting food access in other countries. Export restrictions are also affecting Argentina, Russia and Turkey. Argentina imposed restrictions on exports of meat and soybeans and Turkey on exports of rice. In the case of Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter has placed an export duty on wheat. The global food supply has become more interconnected and trade restrictions expose the food system's complexity. Climate change also disrupts the food chain feeding millions. The climate change induced floods in Pakistan have damaged several crops, including rice. Pakistan is the world's fourth largest rice exporter. Countries that depend on Pakistan's exports are now forced to seek alternatives, but finding options is not that simple. For instance, Afghanistan imports the majority of its food, including rice from Pakistan. Now Afghanistan relies on milled rice from India and Iran, which are also imposing export restrictions on food. Other disruptions linked to the food chain globally include political instability and financial crises. Amid the financial crisis in 2008, for example, several countries imposed export bans on food, which led to a food crisis in 2010. That year, the high-priced volatility in global agricultural markets sparked massive public protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, in a time later known as the Arab Spring. Climate change poses a significant risk for food exporters and importers alike. As a result, international agreements and the food and agriculture industries must adapt to establish long-term resilience in a global food system. Remember to visit oec.world, the best place to visualize, understand, and interact with the latest trade data, and follow @oectoday on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I'm Joanna Williams. Thanks for tuning in.