The G20 Agriculture Working Group highlights the role of international food trade in strengthening global food security and nutrition in a session organized by IICA and Insper Agro Global
Brasilia, 21 June 2024 – During the Third Meeting of the G20 Agriculture Working Group, held this month in Brasilia, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Insper Agro Global organized a plenary session where representatives from the private sector and delegates from 19 countries discussed how international food trade is essential for global food security and nutrition.
The session, moderated by Joaquín Arias, Coordinator of the Public Policy Observatory for Agrifood Systems (OPSAa) at IICA, included the presentation "International Trade and Global Food Security" by Marcos Jank, senior agribusiness professor at INSPER, one of Brazil's leading business schools. The presentation was a joint effort between INSPER and IICA.
Additionally, the session featured Gilberto Tomazoni, global CEO of JBS—the world's largest meat processing company—who presented policy recommendations from the B20, the task force on Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture.
The forum highlighted the growing prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in various regions, noting that the proportion of undernourished people has increased, reaching 735 million in 2022, with Asia and Africa being the most affected. Furthermore, approximately 3 billion people globally do not have access to healthy diets.
Economic shocks, political instabilities, and extreme weather events were identified as the main drivers of food insecurity. It was concluded that low incomes, food inflation, and high costs also limit access to food and healthy diets, disproportionately affecting low-income populations. "Sixty countries in 2023 were experiencing food insecurity, affected by political, economic, and environmental instability," Jank indicated.
Jank emphasized Latin America's export capacity, highlighting the region's role as the largest net exporter, even surpassing North America, due to the ability to have two annual harvests, widespread adoption of No-Till Farming, and agricultural-livestock integrations that produce significantly more commodities per hectare than Europe.
The G20 Agriculture Working Group session included participation from representatives of both developed and developing countries, as well as delegates from international organizations.
Fundamental role of international trade
In light of this situation, panel participants stated that international trade plays a crucial role in enhancing global food security by linking agri-food systems, redistributing food production, and mitigating the negative impacts of economic, climate, and disease-related shocks. Additionally, it promotes dietary diversification, stabilizes prices, and improves food safety and health standards.
However, there is an increasing dependence on food imports in various regions, highlighting the need for efficient trade policies to ensure the availability and accessibility of nutritious foods. The presentation included data from the OPSAa observatory, an initiative launched by IICA’s Director General, Manuel Otero. The data showed that between 2020 and 2022, countries with a net food trade deficit reached levels of up to USD 5,000 per capita, whereas those with a net food trade surplus had an excess of up to USD 10,000 per person, demonstrating the fundamental role of international trade in moving food from surplus regions to deficit regions.
Insper and IICA, with contributions from the B20 and T20, presented public policy recommendations to the G20 Agriculture Working Group aimed at boosting trade and enhancing global food security. These included strengthening the central role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), completing agricultural negotiations, and developing a global food labeling system. They also highlighted the importance of digitalization, regulatory convergence, and support for preferential trade agreements to improve market integration and environmental sustainability.
"It is important for policies to recognize three levels of action: multilateral and regional agreements, national trade policies, and macroeconomic and sectoral policies. This creates the necessary and sufficient conditions for international trade to fulfill its strategic role in development and food security," said Joaquín Arias of IICA. He added that this approach ensures complementation and coherence between policies arising from multilateral and regional agreements with policies that reduce trade barriers, promote sustainable environmental standards, and leverage signed agreements. "It is also essential to implement appropriate fiscal and monetary policies and optimize the use of national resources," said Arias.
The policy recommendations from this session were presented to the G20 Agriculture Working Group to be used at the upcoming meetings of G20 Agriculture Ministers and Heads of State, which will take place in September and November of this year.
Link to meeting documents
To access the agenda and the presentations from the panelists, please visit the following links:
3ª Reunión del Grupo de Trabajo de Agricultura del G20, Brasilia
Observatorio de Políticas Públicas para los Sistemas Agroalimentarios (OPSAa)
More information:
Institutional Communication Division
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
Insper Agro Global:
OPSAa