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Grain import dependency in the MENA region: risk management options

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Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region is the largest grain importing region in the world. Severe constraints on arable land and water, coupled with a growing population and rising incomes, make the region inherently dependent on imports to meet rising demand for food, particularly cereals. These imports became exorbitantly expensive in recent years as world market prices for cereals were high and erratic. As a result, MENA countries, as well as food importing countries throughout the world, have placed a new premium on designing strategies for improving food security by reducing the risks that accompany being a food importing nation. This paper is meant to be an overview of strategies available to policy makers in the region in order to improve food security under the assumption of continued import dependence.

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Notes

  1. Pure counterparty risk is normally a reference to actions or inactions of a counterparty based on volition. There is another side to performance risk and that is where the action or inactions of the counterparty is not due to their own volition, but due to the actions or inactions of a third party. For example—an export ban. The counterparty wants to perform but cannot due to the actions of a third party—in this case a government.

  2. Examples include United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, InterContinental Exchange, and Euronext Liffe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Risk Management Team, Agriculture and Rural Development Department, World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20433, USA

    Marc Sadler

  2. Environment and Production Technology, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street, NW, Washington, DC, USA

    Nicholas Magnan

Authors
  1. Marc Sadler
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  2. Nicholas Magnan
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Correspondence to Marc Sadler.

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Sadler, M., Magnan, N. Grain import dependency in the MENA region: risk management options. Food Sec. 3 (Suppl 1), 77–89 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-010-0095-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-010-0095-y

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