Food security and storage in the Middle East and North Africa

Donald Larson (), Julian Lampietti, Christophe Gouel, Carlo Cafiero and John Roberts
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Julian Lampietti: Sustainable Development Department for Latin America - The World Bank - Banque mondiale
John Roberts: Agricultural and Resource Economics Department - UMD - University of Maryland [College Park] - University System of Maryland

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Abstract: In times of highly volatile commodity markets, governments often try to protect their populations from rapidly-rising food prices, which can be particularly harsh for the poor. A potential solution for food-deficit countries is to hold strategic reserves, which can be called on when international prices spike. But how large should strategic stockpiles be? This paper develops a dynamic storage model for wheat in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where imported wheat dominates the average diet. The paper uses the model to analyze a strategy that sets aside wheat stockpiles, which can be used when needed to keep domestic prices below a targeted price. This paper shows that if the target is set high and reserves are adequate, the strategy can be effective and robust. Contrary to most interventions, strategic storage policies are counter-cyclical and, when the importing region is sufficiently large, a regional policy can smooth global prices. This paper shows that this is the case for the MENA region. Nevertheless, the policy is more costly than the pro-cyclical policy of a targeted intervention that directly offsets high prices with a subsidy similar to food stamps.

Keywords: Blé; Wheat; Strategic reserve; Price volatility; Middle East and North Africa; Food security (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01186946v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Published in World Bank Economic Review, 2014, 28 (1), pp.48-73. ⟨10.1093/wber/lht015⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: Food Security and Storage in the Middle East and North Africa (2014)
Working Paper: Food security and storage in the Middle East and North Africa (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01186946

DOI: 10.1093/wber/lht015

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