OECD Inventory of Export Restrictions on Staple Crops

4. About the OECD Database on Export Restrictions on Staple Crops

The OECD database on export restrictions on staple crops gathers information on six export restrictive measures: export prohibitions, export quotas, export taxes, licensing requirements, MEPs, and restrictions on customs clearance point for exports (Table 4.1 provides definitions for these policy measures). Most of these export restrictions are prohibited under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, with exceptions that allow their use under certain circumstances (Box 1), except for export taxes which are allowed under WTO rules. The OECD database includes export taxes, however, since they restrict exports.

The OECD developed this database for the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) initiative (Box 2). It therefore covers the 29 AMIS members and four AMIS staple crops (wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans). AMIS members are responsible for the majority of global exports of these staple crops: in 2022-24, they accounted for 94% of world maize exports, 78% of world rice exports, 95% of world soybean exports, and 97% of world wheat exports (Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1. Share of AMIS members in global exports of maize, rice, soybeans, and wheat in 2022-24

Source: AMIS (2024[5]).

Data is gathered from official legal documents, government websites, and other reliable sources. Only policies that have been implemented or officially announced in a legal document have been incorporated.

Information on export restrictions has been collected since 2007 and is updated annually. The updating process begins with a verification as to whether past policies remain valid, have been terminated, or replaced by new policies. This process guarantees that the evolution of export restrictions can be traced over time.

The database provides both standardised and highly detailed information that enables users to compare policies across commodities and countries, as well as to track the evolution of specific policies over time. This comprehensive overview facilitates a deeper understanding of the landscape of export restrictions. The methodology document explains in detail how the information is collected and organised (OECD, 2024[6]).

The OECD database on export restrictions on staple crops can be accessed in two versions: the detailed version and the aggregated version. Both versions can be downloaded from the OECD website on export restrictions on staple crops.

The detailed version is the complete version of the database. It contains information on all the fields described in the methodology (OECD, 2024[6]). It is particularly useful to understand the timing of policies, their value (e.g. value of the tax or quota volume), the HS codes that were targeted, the conditions of the policy, and the countries that were exempted. It also shows whether a policy was eliminated or replaced by a more recent policy. This version can serve as the basis of in-depth policy briefs that examine, for example, the evolution of export restrictions in a specific country.

To avoid the incorrect use of the information in the detailed version, the methodology of the database provides practical recommendations on how to correctly use the information on export restrictions (OECD, 2024[6]). The recommendations are the following (more information can be found in the methodology itself):

• Do not simply count policy measures

• Count policy measures following specific rules

• Identify the period of implementation of a policy

• Identify policies that have been eliminated

• Be careful when interpreting licensing requirements

• Compare export bans and export quotas

• Use the field [HS_Code] to distinguish the raw materials from semi-processed commodities

The aggregated version of the database collapses the information from the detailed version to facilitate visual comparisons across time, countries, policies, and commodities. It is obtained by counting, for each country, the measures with the same “commodity class name,” “policy measure name,” “publication date,” “start date,” and “end date” as one. The aggregated version is useful for broader overviews of the trends between countries and commodities and is the basis for the figures on the website and this document.

Table 4.1. Definitions of export restrictive measures

Policy measure	Definition
Export prohibition	No exports are permitted. Exceptions may be granted through export licenses or quotas. Other terms equivalent to export prohibition are export ban or export embargo.
Export quota	A prescribed maximum volume of permitted exports.
Export tax	A tax collected on goods or commodities at the time they leave a customs territory. This tax can be set either on a per unit basis or an ad valorem (value) basis. Other terms equivalent to export tax are export tariff, export duty, export levy or export charge.
Licensing requirement	Non-automatic export licensing: exporters must obtain prior approval, in form of a license, to export a good or commodity. This practice requires submission of an application or other documentation as a condition for being authorised to export. Export licenses are often used in conjunction with export quotas. Aside from economic reasons, licensing can be applied for non-economic reasons: national security, protection of health, safety, the environment, morality, religion, intellectual property, or compliance with international obligations. Licensing schemes can operate on the basis of product lists of various types, usually lists of banned products or of restricted products that require licenses; be applied to restrict exports by destination (e.g., specific countries); or have other conditions attached, such as a requirement that exportation may only be for a specified purpose. Other terms equivalent to non-automatic licensing: export permit.
Minimum export prices	A minimum allowable price for a good being exported. This practice is often used in conjunction with export taxes because they can facilitate customs procedures by preventing under-invoicing and can be used as a base to calculate export taxes. In some cases, MEPs are not binding but are used as reference prices. Other terms equivalent to MEP: administered pricing.
Restriction on customs clearance point for exports	The government specifies ports/entry points through which export of a good or commodity is to be channelled.

Source: OECD (2024[4]).

Box 1. Treatment of export restrictions under WTO rules

Unlike import duties or tariffs, export duties, taxes, or other charges are not prohibited under WTO rules and are not bound nor disciplined, and, therefore, can be adjusted unilaterally.

Conversely, Article XI of GATT 1994 explicitly prohibits quantitative export restrictions through quotas, import or export licenses, or other measures. “No prohibitions or restrictions other than duties, taxes or other charges, whether made effective through quotas, import or export licences, or other measures, shall be instituted or maintained by any contracting party on the importation of any product of the territory of any other contracting party or on the exportation or sale for export of any product destined for the territory of any other contracting party.”

Article XI does make exceptions to this rule in paragraph 2(a): “export prohibitions or restrictions temporarily applied to prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to the exporting contracting party” and in paragraph 2(b) “import and export prohibitions or restrictions necessary to the application of standards or regulations for the classification, grading or marketing of commodities in international trade”. Article XX further allows exemptions for pursuing commodity agreements that conform to accepted conditions of such agreements and exemptions for raw material used in domestic processing.

Given that no agreement has been made regarding how long temporary is, and on what is critical or essential in determining whether an export ban or restriction is allowable, countries routinely apply export restrictions under these exemptions.

Article 12 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture stipulates that all members instituting an export prohibition or restriction should notify this to the WTO as far in advance as is practical; the notification should indicate the product covered, duration, nature of, and the justification for the measure.

In 2022, trade ministers agreed to exempt food from export restrictions when procured for humanitarian purposes by the World Food Programme (WFP).

Box 2. The Agricultural Market Information System

AMIS is an inter-agency platform that aims to avoid or mitigate food price crises by enhancing the transparency of food markets and policy responses. To achieve this, AMIS provides timely information on the global supplies of staple crops (wheat, maize, rice and soybeans) and improves policy coordination in international food markets.

Launched in 2011 by the G20 Ministers of Agriculture following the food price hikes of 2007-08 and 2010, AMIS is composed of 29 members: the G20 members (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Republic of Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States) plus Bangladesh, Spain and seven additional major exporting and importing countries of AMIS crops (Egypt, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines, Thailand, Ukraine and Viet Nam). Together, AMIS participants represent around 80-90% of global production, consumption and trade volumes of the targeted crops.

The AMIS Secretariat consists of ten international organisations: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Grains Council (IGC), OECD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank Group, World Food Programme (WFP), and the WTO. Each brings their comparative advantage and expertise to this initiative. The OECD and WTO lead the work on policy monitoring, reporting, and analysis.

Note: For more information, see www.amis-outlook.org.