A new tool monitors restrictions in food trade and assesses their impacts for food availability. The COVID-19 Food Trade Policy Tracker, developed by AMIS Secretariat colleagues in IFPRI, is updated twice daily and provides information free of charge.

Meant to ensure sufficiency of domestic food supplies, several governments have implemented trade restrictions, including on staple foods, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, these restrictions pose a direct threat to countries that rely on imports and – as we know from experience – may lead to higher food prices.

The tracker also provides indicators to facilitate analysis of the potential impact of trade restrictions, such as export and import shares of affected staple foods in world trade and domestic food production and consumption.

Access the tool here: https://www.ifpri.org/project/covid-19-food-trade-policy-tracker