Agricultural and Trade Policy

The chapter describes the aims and content of agricultural and trade policy, and its impact on agriculture, the food industry and food markets. The starting point is that agricultural and trade policy plays and will probably continue to play a major role in the agricultural sector in the future. A significant proportion of the value of agricultural production is due to agricultural support—but there are large differences between countries. Furthermore, agricultural and trade policy also changes over time as both the goal and instruments of support change. In terms of agricultural support, some relatively clear global trends can be identified. However, the trends may vary between countries, which can largely be explained by differences in the countries’ level of development and the competitiveness and supply of the agricultural sectors.