JOB/AG/131  
 
1 December  2017 
(17-6607) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Agriculture  
Special Session  Original: English  
 
INFORMATION NOTE ON WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME  ELEMENT OF SINGAPORE' S 
PROPOSAL ON EXPORT R ESTRICTIONS AND PROH IBITIONS  
 
The following information note , dated 30 November  2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Singapore . 
 
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This is a note to provide delegations with more information on the World Food Programme (WFP) 
element of Singapore' s proposal on export restrictions and prohibitions (JOB/AG/101/Rev.2 ), 
which proposes that "Members shall not impose export prohibitions or restrictions on 
foodstuffs purchased for non -commercial humanitarian purposes by the World Food 
Programme (WFP) ".  
 
WHY IS SUCH AN OUTCOME IMPORTANT?  
First, this would benefit many developing countries and least developed countries where 
the WFP operates, especially countries in Africa.   
 
 54% of the WFP' s direct expenditure between 2014 and 2016 went to Sub -Saharan Africa. 
32% went to North Africa, Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). 
11% went to Asia and the Pacific and 3% to Lati n America and the Caribbean.  
 
 Breakdown of countries where WFP currently operates by region:  
 
Africa  
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa n Republic, Chad, Congo, 
Cote d' Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, 
Guinea, Guinea -Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, 
Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tom é and Principe, Senegal, 
Sierra  Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Yemen, 
Zambia, Zimbabwe . 
 
Middle East and CIS  
Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgy z Republic , Leban ese Republic , Palestine, Syrian  
Arab Republic, Ta jikistan, Ukraine . 
 
Asia and the Pacific  
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cam bodia, China, Democratic People' s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, 
Lao People 's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines,  Sri Lanka, Timor -Leste, 
Turkey.  
 JOB/AG/131  
 
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  Latin America  and the Caribbean  
Plurinational State of Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, 
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru . 
 
Second , such a commitment would help the WFP ensure timely delivery of food 
assistance, prevent incurring additional costs on the purchase, transportation and 
distribution of food, minim ize food losses and at times literally save lives of the most 
vulnerable.  
 
 Today, export restrictions including export bans on foodstuff, continue engendering 
significant inef ficiencies in humanitarian food assistance delivery.  
 
 The quantity of foodstuff purchased by the WFP relative to total world trade is small, and 
does not distort trade. For instance, total procurement of cereals by the WFP in 2016 
(1.5 million tonnes) equa tes to only 0.4% of world trade in cereals.  
 
Third , such a commitment will contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goal 2 
of ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting 
sustainable agriculture.  
 
 20 million people ar e facing starvation in 2017 and the number of food -insecure people is on 
the rise for the first time after the 2008 food crisis.  
 
 The need for effective food assistance is therefore stronger now than at any time in recent 
history.  
 
 
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