Page 318 - Climate Change and Food Systems

climate change and food systems: global assessments and implications for food security and trade
3. Trade in agricultural commodities: Recent trends
Over the past several decades, global agricultural trade has expanded in line with increasing populations, rising incomes, improved technologies and an expansion of agricultural lands. In broad terms, international agricultural trade tends
to flow from countries with large, productive
land resources and high rates of agricultural mechanization and investment to less-developed
countries that are characterized by rising populations and limited productive capacity, such as in sub-Saharan Africa (Figures 1 and 2, USDA ERS, 2013a, 2013b). Some developing countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, export significant quantities of agricultural products. Conversely, some developed countries, such as Japan and Korea, are highly import-dependent.
Wheat is the most widely traded agricultural commodity, with exports totalling around
21 percent of world production (FAOSTAT 2013). Collectively, the European Union (EU), the United
figure 1
Exports by commodity and region, average over 5 years to 2009, million tonnes (Mt)
Source: FAOSTAT 2013
Note: Trade data for Europe includes intra-EU trade
figure 2
Imports by commodity and region, average over 5 years to 2009, million tonnes (Mt)
Source: FAOSTAT 2013
Note: Trade data for Europe includes intra-EU trade
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