Fears voiced as some nations impose export restrictions
A vendor piles sacks of rice for sale in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The country has announced that a two-month ban on the export of standard-grade white rice, imposed to ensure sufficient domestic supplies of staple foods during the coronavirus crisis, will be lifted on Wednesday. (HENG SINITH / AP)
Editor's note: The world faces huge challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak, and maybe even greater ones when it is over. Here, in the ninth part of a series titled "One World, One Fight", we look at how countries can work together to fight the virus and meet the challenges when the pandemic ends.
As many countries begin to ease measures imposed to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic, Nguyen Quang Hoa, the founder of one of Vietnam's biggest rice exporters, has one key issue on his mind.
He hopes that 12,500 metric tons of his sticky rice will successfully reach its destinations.
Hoa, the founder of Duong Vu Co, said his rice is usually sold to China－his largest market, Japan, South Korea and some Southeast Asian countries. In March, the Vietnamese government said it would restrict rice shipments due to concerns that global demand would rise as the outbreak disrupted supply chains.
More than 100 traders in Vietnam, including Hoa, have been affected by the government measure.
Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice exporter, resumed the trade this month, but Hoa said hundreds of thousands of tons of the staple are spoiling at the country's ports as a result of the curb on exports.
"Despite the ban being lifted, I will still lose money even if the rice is delivered to customers as scheduled, due to an excess of domestic grain being hoarded at ports. Some of this is rotting due to poor storage," he said.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries have imposed export restrictions on food and agricultural products because of fears over insufficient domestic supplies.
Export controls on medical supplies such as face masks and surgical gowns are also affecting the global response to the growing threat from the outbreak.
On March 20, Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, announced a 10-day ban on exports of buckwheat and rice over concerns about panic buying in supermarkets. Kazakhstan and Ukraine followed suit shortly afterward. On March 30, Cambodia announced limits on exports of some agricultural products, and these took effect on April 5.
In Turkey, exports of lemons have been restricted, while Serbia has announced a ban on exports of sunflower oil. Exports of legumes have been banned in Egypt for three months.
Hoa said: "For people in countries that depend on food imports, the restrictions make it difficult for them to buy supplies. Farmers and dealers in countries that depend on food exports for their livelihoods, lose their jobs. To a certain extent, it's a lose-lose situation."
Possible disruptions
According to media reports, export restrictions have been imposed on agricultural and food products in at least 14 countries since March.
Food security has emerged as a growing concern during the pandemic, triggering warnings from UN agencies about possible disruptions to global supplies and potentially making critical staples such as wheat and rice more expensive and harder to find.
For exporting countries, domestic reserves of grains and rice are generally sufficient after years of relatively good harvests, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO.
But reductions in exports could hit countries in Africa, the Middle East and other areas that import much of their food.
Rice and wheat prices are starting to rise as some nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, go on a buying spree to boost their stockpiles. Prices of the staple in Nigeria have climbed by 30 percent since March, partly due to a steep decline in export revenue.
Other global concerns include the effect that closures of borders and transportation networks will have on food supplies. The World Bank estimates that agricultural production in Africa could fall by up to 7 percent this year, depending on the extent of trade disruption.
Fan Shenggen, a professor of agricultural economics at the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University in Beijing, said the impact of food shortages on people in poor areas is irreversible.
"The lack of food leads to disease, malnutrition and death," Fan said.
Farmers try to scare away locusts at a farm in Kenya. (ZHANG YU / XINHUA)
Countries most at risk
The FAO said in a statement that it estimates 821 million people, or nearly 11 percent of the global population, are undernourished, the highest rate since 2011.
It has identified 26 countries most at risk of increased food insecurity because of the pandemic, with Ethiopia, Nigeria and Mozambique among the most vulnerable in Africa. In these three nations alone, the FAO estimates that 56 million people, out of a combined population of about 334 million, are facing chronic food insecurity.
In addition, of the 1.5 billion children worldwide who are out of school because of the pandemic, 350 million depend on school meals to avoid going hungry.
Kadara Swaleh, director of political affairs for the Jubilee Party of Kenya, said countries should keep global food trade open, and multilateralism should be upheld widely at this time.
"The biggest problem facing Africa is livelihoods. If people can get enough food for their family, they are prepared to stay indoors for one month or two until the pandemic is over. Thus, it is very important to make sure every country has enough food to weather this difficult time," Swaleh said.
As countries enacted measures aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19, the FAO called on them to minimize the potential impact on food supplies and guard against unintended consequences on global trade and food security.
"Now is the time to show solidarity, act responsibly and adhere to our common goal of enhancing food security, food safety and nutrition, and improve the general welfare of people around the world," it said.
"We learned from previous crises that such measures are particularly damaging for low-income, food-deficit countries and to the efforts of humanitarian organizations to procure food for those in desperate need."
Pu Mingzhe, an assistant researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, said that during the pandemic, farms and food producers are being severely affected by restrictions imposed on seasonal workers.
"For farmers, spring is the most important planting season. Affected by lockdowns, a large number of them will lose their jobs and incomes this year," Pu said.
He pointed out that in addition to the pandemic, the worst locust plague in decades is decimating millions of hectares of crops as it spreads across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
According to the World Bank, locust swarms have infested 23 countries. They have torn through large areas of food crops in the Horn of Africa, where more than 24 million people are already "food insecure" and 12 million are internally displaced, the bank said in a recent report.
But Pu said the picture is not "all gloom" as many countries are now working to ensure that food prices remain stable.
"For example, China has stepped up efforts to boost pork supplies and to curb rising prices, including releasing more frozen meat from reserves, boosting production and increasing meat imports," he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news conference that since the outbreak began, China has actively responded to the FAO's initiatives and to calls for help from other countries.
"A Chinese working group was sent to Pakistan to help contain a locust plague, share experience and provide supplies, which has yielded good results. We are also planning to offer technical and material support to East African countries affected by locust plagues," Geng said.
"China actively puts forward proposals in the UN, G20 and other multilateral organizations, works with all countries to safeguard the stability and security of the international industrial food chain, prevent a regional food crisis and strengthen the basis for greater development in all countries," Geng said.
Crisis an opportunity
Qu Dongyu, head of the FAO, said at a joint meeting of agriculture ministers from G20 countries on May 4 that the pandemic is having an impact on food security and nutrition, and called for effective policy solutions for a global response.
In a news release, Qu said, "We need to collaborate with every player in the supply chain, build public-private partnerships and promote innovation."
Citing e-commerce as an example, he added: "The crisis is an opportunity to accelerate transformation of the food system. New business models are needed. It is time to speed-up e-commerce in agriculture and food systems across the globe."
Liu Ke, dean of the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said at a time when the world is facing a common enemy, it is not right to impose limits on food exports.
"There are lessons we can learn from the 2007-08 food crisis. If one country starts to impose trade restrictions on food or agricultural products, then others will follow, which could result in a catastrophe for food markets. Keeping global food trade open is critical to keeping the food market functioning," Liu said.
In addition, he said an effective response to a food crisis related to the outbreak calls for ways to restructure global and national food systems to be explored.
Liu said the goal is to ensure political and financial stability, protect communities from poor health and environmental degradation, and ensure economic vitality.
"Like medical care, food must be allowed to cross borders freely. Food producers must ensure that healthy, nutritious foods are available and not wasted," he added.
