Choose an element
- Select
- English
Multilateral trade
When food stops moving: why export restrictions fail in a crisis
Geopolitical shocks can disrupt food, fertiliser and other critical agricultural input markets, but history has taught us that export restrictions often make a bad situation even worse. This ICC policy paper examines how export restrictions amplify shortages, raise prices and undermine food security, while offering practical recommendations to keep global agricultural trade flowing in times of crisis.
Export restrictions can turn local disruptions into global crises
As Strait of Hormuz disruptions to food, fertiliser and other critical agricultural input supply chains have shown, governments often restrict exports in response to market shocks. While intended to protect domestic markets, experience from previous crises shows that such measures can worsen shortages, increase uncertainty and contribute to higher global prices.
ICC calls on governments to treat export restrictions as a last resort measure and sets out recommendations to:
- improve transparency;
- strengthen World Trade Organization (WTO) disciplines;
- expand notification requirements to fertilisers and other critical agricultural inputs; and
- safeguard the flow of food and agricultural trade during periods of geopolitical stress.
Evidence shows export restrictions rarely achieve their goals
Drawing on lessons from the 2007–2008 food crisis and the 2022 food and fertiliser shock, the paper demonstrates how export restrictions frequently fail to stabilise domestic markets while amplifying pressure on global food systems. It highlights how unilateral measures can trigger wider restrictions by other governments, creating a cycle that undermines food security and market stability.
And the impacts extend far beyond food prices. Export restrictions can disrupt supply chains, break contracts, increase financing risks and reduce incentives for producers to invest. Over time, they can also damage a country’s reputation as a reliable supplier and weaken the resilience of global agricultural markets.
Related resources
Safeguarding food security amid the Hormuz crisis
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in February 2026 severed a critical chokepoint for fertiliser and agricultural input trade. New research reveals the severity of this compound crisis spanning physical supply, commercial viability and farm-level demand. This ICC policy brief outlines key priorities for policy and industry action to safeguard global food security.
Will Hormuz be a catalyst for a fertiliser-driven food crisis?
With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of the fertiliser-company, Yara International, joins ICC's Andrew Wilson to detail what fertiliser supply disruptions mean for food production and food security worldwide. Svein Tore explains the risk of crop failures in the world's most vulnerable regions, what governments can do to mitigate the damage and why this crisis should strengthen rather than weaken the case for climate action.
Proposed UN mechanism to reopen Hormuz to commercial shipping
ICC is supporting a new confidence-building mechanism developed by the UN Secretary-General’s Strait of Hormuz Task Force to facilitate safe, orderly and predictable maritime transit through one of the world’s most critical trade routes.
