Commonly used output market policy interventions that directly affect the price of foods
| Policy type | Policy description |
|---|---|
| Output price policy | Policies aimed at influencing output prices, the prices which producers are paid for agricultural commodities, have been ubiquitous in both low-income and high-income countries. The range of domestic policy instruments used to influence output prices include taxes imposed at different points in the marketing chain and direct interventions in commodity markets (minimum support prices, state procurement, buffer stock operations etc) |
| Trade liberalisation | Agricultural trade policy involves an array of instruments including taxes, subsidies, quantitative restrictions on imports or exports and exchange rate policies. Trade policies affect food commodity prices through their impact on the prices and quantities of food imports and exports and they are often deployed in conjunction with domestic price policy instruments in pursuit of development and food security objectives26 |
| Food subsidies and Public Distribution Systems (PDS) | Governments deploy an array of policy instruments to influence the prices that consumers pay for food including open-ended general subsidies, PDS with quantity rationing, food stamps, food-for-work programmes and incentives to stimulate changes in food consumption of specific population groups27 |