JOB/AG/218  
 
22 September 2021  
(21-7091) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Agriculture  
Special Session  Original: English  
 
COVID -19 IMPACT ON AGRICULTURAL MARKETS AND SOME IMPLICATIONS  
FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS ON AGRICULTURE  
COMMUNICATION BY THE ACP GROUP TO THE SPECIAL SESSION OF  
THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE  
The following communication, dated 21 September 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group . 
 
_______________  
 
 
1.  The ACP Group carefully studied the draft texts circulated by the Chair of the Committee on  
Agriculture in Special Session (CoA -SS) in JOB/AG/215 and has concluded that more work is required 
to bring the texts in line with the expectations of developing countries and LDCs before it can be a 
basis for negotiations, preparatory to the Twelfth Mini sterial Conference (MC12) of the WTO. The 
draft text does not adequately assist Members of the ACP Group to effectively address the issues of 
food and livelihood security, rural development, foreign exchange earnings and the growth and 
development of the a gricultural and agro -processing sectors in these economies.  
2.  The COVID -19 pandemic has not only exposed the vulnerability of Members of the ACP Group to 
exogenous shocks, but also poses severe long -term and possibly permanent consequences for their 
agricul tural and agro -processing sectors, and impedes their successful participation in global 
agriculture trade. An outcome for agriculture at MC12 should address these concerns and help to 
provide a framework within which developing countries and LDCs can addre ss fallouts  from future 
events with COVID -19-like impacts.  
3.  The on -going COVID -19 pandemic continues to have huge impacts on human suffering and 
economic activities, including on world agricultural trade. Supply chains have been disrupted as a 
result of, inter alia , the impact of the virus on economies which foster restrictions on workforce and 
logistics constraints in the production, shipment and distribution of goods. The demand side has also 
been disrupted due to substantial losses of income for those who se jobs and businesses have been 
directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic, including measures taken to prevent or contain the 
spread of the virus.  
4.  At the onset of the pandemic world food markets were at a fairly stable position in terms of 
availabi lity of supplies with minimal effects on world food prices. In view of the relatively comfortable 
position in world food markets, the food sector remains resilient despite the shocks posed by the 
COVID -19 pandemic. In reference to an assessment conducted b y the Food and Agriculture 
Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the majority of staple foods registered marked increases 
in globally traded quantities in 2020 in relation to 2019, in view of high the traded volumes of 
commodities with more income elas tic demand contracted .1   
5.  There is an issue with affordability of food on the local markets of poor import -dependent 
countries, which include Members of the ACP Group. The extent to which an importing country can 
meet its food  needs under a prevailing nor mal circumstance and during periods of external shocks, 
 
1 Food Outlook , Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, November 2020.  JOB/AG/218  
 
- 2 - 
 
  such as COVID -19, depends on its capacity to import and the purchasing power of the population. 
Both of these factors have been adversely affected by COVID -19.   
6.  Tropical agricultural products are key foreign exchange earners for developing countries, 
particularly among Members of the ACP Group. Supply chains of some tropical agricultural products 
have not shown the same resilience as that of bulk grains, partly du e to the highly perishable nature 
of fruits and vegetables exported by these countries , as well as the less integrated nature of their 
material sourcing, production and distribution processes.  Among the countries whose food security 
has been adversely affected by COVID -19 are the food -import dependent countries in sub -Saharan 
Africa (SSA) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), many of which have dependency ratios 
well above 40 %. For these countries, apart from products in the oilseed compl ex, most other 
volumes of imported foodstuffs are seen by FAO to have fallen in 2020, resulting in an overall 
contraction of trade, volume -wise, by almost 2% compared to 2019. This has a knock -on effect on 
their ability to earn foreign exchange, achieve em ployment targets and on their development plans 
for the agricultural sector.  
7.  The impact of COVID -19 is accentuating the difficulties faced by already poor countries in 
financing their food import needs. Many economically disadvantaged Members of the ACP Gr oup are 
forced to curtail the importation of foodstuffs, especially those essential for reducing malnutrition 
and, as a consequence, a prolonged COVID -19 pandemic would increasingly worsen the already 
fragile levels of their food security.  
8.  Aside from the s hort-term physical, social and economic access to food supplies, the potential 
threats of COVID -19 to the food security of many financially weak ACP Group Members, are also 
seen in the context of existing policy options that these countries have at their d isposal to respond 
to such threats as well as possible recourse to related multilateral mechanisms that could cushion 
such adverse effects. One of the fears at the onset of COVID -19 was the danger of instability in 
world food markets, as a result of imposi tion of export restrictive measures by some countries, as 
has been the case during major world market shocks in the past. These vulnerabilities have been 
among the reasons for the ACP Group 's advocacy for a permanent solution in the WTO in respect of 
public stockholding for food security purposes (PSH).  
9.  Indeed, several WTO Members used export restrictive measures in 2020 with similar 
characteristics in terms of the instruments used and the commodities targeted as in the past. 
However, there has not been an  apparent impact on world food security directly linked to such 
measures, largely due to the adequacy of global food stocks in major exporting and importing 
countries and the good harvests that ensued globally during the current pandemic circumstance.  
10.  Nevertheless, under the conditions that prevailed in terms of adequacy in global food supplies, 
the occurrence of export restrictive measures during COVID -19 has been unnecessarily excessive 
(although in many cases of short duration), which affected Net Food Importing Developing Countries 
(NFIDCs). Also of concern is the limited notification by major exporters of these export restrictive 
measures, which is of concern to the ACP Group. We should, in the future, avoid the near -total 
disregard of WTO notification  obligations regarding these measures including  their possible  adverse  
effects  on the food security  of other  Members  in line with Article  12 of the Agreement  on Agriculture  
(AoA).  This experience underlines  again  the importance  of Members ' adherence  to the export  
restrictions  provisions  of the AoA; which  was imperative  that had also been strongly  advocated  for 
during  the 2008-11 food crisis.  The WTO Secretariat  also has an important  role to play in building  
capacity  among  Members  that face difficulties  in improving  their adherence  to existing  transparency  
commitments  related  to Article  12 of the AoA. 
11.  The potential threat to food security of heavily import -dependent countries during COVID -19, 
even though it did not materialize, stirred up calls for the danger s associated with a world market 
that may not always be a sustainable source of supplies. There have been renewed sentiments for 
increasing food self -sufficiency, similar to those expressed during the 2008 -11 food crisis. 
Consequently, several countries, a mong them many ACP Group Members, expressed the need for 
retaining ample policy space in providing effective support to domestic producers for crops essential 
to their food security. The de minimis  entitlements are, therefore, important policy tools for AC P 
Group Members. Additionally, given that the agricultural sectors of ACP Group Members are primarily 
dominated by resource poor farmers, whose main markets are based locally, Article 6.2 of the AoA 
provides the necessary policy space for interventions rel ated to food and livelihood security.   JOB/AG/218  
 
- 3 - 
 
  12.  Members of the ACP Group have not been able to use the policy space provided to developing 
countries and LDCs as provided under Article 6 of the AoA, solely due to the budgetary constraints 
that have significantly sl owed or put on hold national policies for rural development, growth in the 
agricultural sector, production chain integration, greater integration into global agricultural value 
chains and movements up the value chain in the agricultural and agro -processing  sectors. It is, 
therefore, essential that Members of the ACP Group, in an outcome on agriculture, retain existing 
policy space in Article 6 and other provisions in the AoA to safeguard their underdeveloped 
agricultural sector and to position them appropri ately when they have the potential to do so in the 
future.  
13.  Notwithstanding the difficulties encountered in making progress on PSH so far, COVID -19 is 
seen by Members of the ACP Group as an additional imperative for reaching an agreement and 
arriving at a permanent solution on this issue, as consistent with the  mandate of the Bali and Nairobi 
Ministerial Conferences of the WTO.  
14.  In addition to increasing support to domestic food production, other exigencies that called for 
assistance in some developing count ry Members included logistics and marketing measures to 
overcome constraints in the supply chain due to COVID -19, especially for perishable agricultural 
export products. In this connection, it is important to recall Article 9.1(d) and (e) of the AoA, which  
exempted developing countries from certain disciplines on export subsidies under specific conditions. 
Maintaining this flexibility is in the interest of ACP Group Members to resort to in view of the 
exceptional circumstances that may arise in the future.  
15.  Finally, another issue in the negotiations that also connects with the desire to increase domestic 
food production in food insecure countries, including many ACP Group Members, is the need for a 
Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) to address the issues of im port surges and price depression.   
16.  While the threat from COVID -19 will subside sooner or later, other events, including climate 
change and natural disasters, would continue to accentuate the inherent volatility of world 
agricultural markets. Occasional gl uts in world markets would surely come from time to time with 
potentially devastating effects on local producers in importing developing countries. Monetary 
transfers to affected farmers is rarely an option for resource -poor developing Members and this 
strengthens the case for an instrument, such as that as  envisaged under SSM, to defend against the 
risks from price depressions and import surges.  
17.  The ACP Group will be providing suggestions on ways in which JOB/AG/215 can be amended to 
provide balance in an  outcome for the agriculture negotiations at MC12.  
__________