World Trade Organization director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has urged governments to end export restrictions on food to help alleviate the growing hunger caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the start of the body’s first ministerial meeting in five years, Okonjo-Iweala said she hoped nations would agree to a food security declaration that would limit the use of “things like export restrictions and prohibitions” which “can exacerbate the issue”.
A ban on exports by big food producers raised prices for importers during the 2008-09 food crisis, she noted, adding: “Our members are trying to think about how they would try to restrain themselves from taking these kinds of actions. This is a very important contribution they can make to keeping the prices of food products from rising.”