Export restrictions on staple crops, which countries tend to introduce when food prices are rising or expected to rise, in an effort to boost food availability and affordability, fell by nearly 50% between August 2024 and June 2025, according to the 2025 edition of the OECD Inventory of Export Restrictions on Staple Crops. This sharp decline marks a clear break after steady increases since 2018, with restrictions peaking in the first half of 2024 at their highest level since OECD records began in 2007.
The downturn coincided with the removal of several pre-existing measures by major players and relatively fewer new restrictions. Between January 2024 and June 2025, around 85% of all restrictions were imposed by only four countries: India, Russia, Argentina, and Ukraine. Notably, India removed its export prohibitions, quotas, taxes, and minimum export prices (MEPs) on rice, thus removing nearly all its rice-targeted export restrictions with the exception of its licensing requirements. Argentina ended its export quota on maize and removed its export tax on rice. Russia removed its export taxes on rice and soybeans and ended its export prohibition on wheat.
Export quotas were the primary instrument introduced in this period, followed by minimum export prices and export taxes. Rice was the most targeted staple crop, followed by wheat, maize, and then soybeans. For rice, export quotas and export prohibitions were used most frequently. For maize and soybeans, export taxes dominated. Wheat was subject to a mix of export taxes, quotas, licensing requirements, and minimum export prices. Only 2% of export restrictions lasted less than a month, around 44% lasted less than a year, roughly 26% lasted longer than a year, and about 30% had no stated end date.
In an interdependent global economy, export restrictions on staple foods can disrupt supply chains and fuel price volatility, making transparent monitoring essential; the OECD database provides freely accessible, updated information to track these measures, compare policies, and support effective, co-operative responses.
For more on the OECD’s work on export restrictions on staple crops, see:
https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/agro-food-trade/export-restrictions-on-staple-crops.html
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