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NEW DELHI, INDIA — While much of the recent attention has been focused on India’s decision to restrict most wheat exports — just weeks after declaring that it planned to drastically increase shipments of the food grain — several other countries that are traditional net exporters also have restricted or banned exports.

These decisions, coupled with Ukraine’s inability to export grain from its ports because of a Russian blockade, have led to record-high grain prices and growing food insecurity for developing countries that depend on grain imports.

The list of countries that recently have banned grain exports, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, includes:

Argentina (soybean oil and soybean meal, through Dec. 31, 2023)
Algeria (pasta, wheat derivatives and vegetable oil, through Dec. 31, 2022)
Egypt (vegetable oil, corn, wheat, wheat flour and pasta, through June 12, 2022)
Russia (sunflower seed, wheat, meslin, rye, barley and corn, through June 30, 2022)
Serbia (wheat, corn, wheat flour, through Dec. 31, 2022)
Kuwait (grains, vegetable oil, through Dec. 31, 2022).
Another notable ban that has put pressure on the global food supply is Indonesia’s ban on palm oil exports.

Then there are countries that have placed limits on grain exports. Kazakhstan, for instance, announced in April that it will limit wheat and flour exports to 1 million tonnes and 300,000 tonnes, respectively, through July 15. Kazakhstan is a major supplier of wheat and flour to the Central Asian region. Kyrgyzstan, which is heavily dependent on Kazakhstan for wheat and flour, announced in March that it was banning wheat exports for six months, as well as a number of other food products.

“As the war continues, there is a growing likelihood that food shortages, particularly of grains and vegetable oils, will become acute, leading more countries to turn to trade restrictions,” the IFPRI said in an April report.

Source: World Grain