The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently released a report highlighting the significant growth of international trade in food and agricultural products and its implications for food and nutrient diversity. At the same time, it emphasizes the need to develop trade policies that align with national nutrition and public health objectives.

Trade and Nutrition: Policy Coherence for Healthy Diets

Expansion of Global Food Trade

Multilateral trade rules have shaped a more favorable trade environment, promoting the trade of food. This has led to an increase in the diversity of foods available globally. For example, in countries like Kiribati or Norway with less diverse geographies, international trade on average doubles the variety of foods, which is beneficial for nutrition goals. Dietary diversity is crucial for the adequacy of micronutrient supply.Moreover, trade-driven diversity also leads to a more equal distribution of nutrients such as vitamin C, calcium, and zinc. In some countries, the domestic food production may not meet the nutrient requirements of the population. Global flows of critical nutrients fill these gaps, as shown by the ample data in SOCO 2024.

Impact on Food Prices

Food prices tend to be lower in countries that are open to trade. This holds true for staples, fresh foods, and processed foods. The availability of a wider range of foods through trade helps to keep prices in check, making food more affordable for consumers.However, in some contexts, trade can have unwanted effects, such as the rise in obesity. While the worldwide prevalence of undernourishment has declined, the global prevalence of obesity in the adult population has increased significantly. Trade has increased in all food categories and at all processing levels since 2000. Staple foods still account for the largest share of calories traded, but the shares of other food categories are also rising.

Key Findings

In 2021, nearly 5000 trillion kilocalories were traded, more than double the amount in 2000. Daily per capita food trade also increased significantly. A 10 percent increase in income leads to an 11 percent increase in the demand for imports of ultra-processed foods and a 7 percent increase in the demand for imports of unprocessed and minimally processed foods.Between 1961 and 2021, the global per capita average dietary energy available for human consumption increased by 35 percent. The share of staple foods declined, while the shares of animal source foods and fats and oils increased. Per capita trade in vitamin C and calcium from food also increased by almost 90 percent during the same period.In 2020, countries produced an average of 120 different food items, and trade lifted the number to an average of 225. Ultra-processed foods accounted for a certain percentage of globally traded calories and food imports in high-income countries.

Trade Governance

Trade liberalization has many benefits for food security, but there are questions about its impact on healthy diets. An analysis using FAO's Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet indicator found that higher import tariffs are associated with higher food prices regardless of the healthy qualities of the foods. This indicates that, in general, trade openness does not have a disproportionate effect on high-energy low-nutrition foods.The SOCO 2024 report also considers the role of modern regional trade agreements. These agreements go beyond market access and tariff reductions and focus on harmonizing non-tariff measures and domestic regulations. Some evidence suggests that regional trade agreements with a high number of sanitary and phytosanitary provisions tend to increase imports of ultra-processed foods, which are more responsive to income changes.The report also reviews case studies of efforts to integrate nutrition goals into trade policies and how these can comply with or violate multilateral rules.