International Food Aid: U.S. and Other Donor Contributions

International Food Aid:
U.S. and Other Donor Contributions
Charles E. Hanrahan
Senior Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Carol Canada
Technical Information Specialist
Knowledge Services Group
Summary
The United States is the world’s major provider of international food aid to low-
income developing countries. This report provides three indicators of the U.S.
contribution to global food aid: (1) shipments of major donors compiled by the
International Grains Council, (2) U.S. contributions to the United Nations World Food
Program (WFP), and (3) the U.S. commitment under the Food Aid Convention (FAC).
U.S. food aid accounted for 58% of food aid shipments by major donors during

1995/96-2006/07. A substantial portion of U.S. food aid is channeled through the WFP.

During 1996-2008, around 48% of donor contributions to the WFP came from the
United States. The Food Aid Convention (FAC), now expired, was an agreement
among donor countries to provide a minimum amount of food aid to low-income
developing countries. The food aid commitment agreed to by all FAC signatories in
1999 was approximately 4.9 million metric tons (mmt). The United States pledged to
provide 2.5 mmt or 51% of the total commitment.
Contributions of Major Donors to International Food Aid
The United States is the major contributor to international food aid, supplying on
average, since 1995, around 58% of the annual total food aid donated by members of the
Food Aid Committee of the International Grains Council (IGC) and signatories of the
1999 Food Aid Convention (Figure 1).¹ U.S. contributions of 2.8 million metric tons
(mmt) measured in wheat equivalent in 1995/1996 rose to 7.1 mmt in 2001/2002

¹ Information on the International Grains Council, the Food Aid Convention, and the Food Aid
Committee is available at [http://www.igc.org.uk/].

(Appendix Table 1).² U.S.Figure 1. Food Aid by Major Donors, 1995-2007

shipments of commodity
food aid were 3.9 mmt in^EU²⁶^.³^%

2006/2007. U.S. contribu-^Ja^pa^{n 5}^.^6%

tions have averaged 5.8
mmt annually. Food aid^C^a^nad^{a 5.}^2%
from the European Union
(including food aid provided^Au^s^t^r^a^lⁱ^{a 2.}⁸^%
by the European Commis-^O^t^h^e^r^1.^9%
sion and by individual EU
member countries) has been
more stable and averaged
around 2.6 mmt or 26% of
average annual food aid^U^{SA 58}^.¹^%
shipments. Japan and
Canada provided 6% and

5%, respectively, of the total^S^o^u^r^c^e^:^F^o^od^Aⁱ^{d S}^hⁱ^p^m^eⁿ^t^s²⁰^06/⁰⁷^,^Iⁿ^t^e^rⁿ^atⁱ^o^na^l^G^r^aiⁿ^s^C^o^un^cⁱ^l^F^o^od^Aⁱ^{d C}^o^m^mⁱ^tte^e^.

from major donors. Japan’s
contributions are provided as cash rather than commodities. The United States contributes
commodities, while the European Union and its member countries provide a mix of cash
and commodities.
Because the IGC’s food aid data are reported on a July/June marketing year basis,
they do not correspond, for example, to fiscal year food aid data reported by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in budget documents or by the U.S. Agency for International
Development in annual food aid reports. The source of the data in Figure 1 and
Appendix Table 1 is the annual report Food Aid Shipments, prepared by the Food Aid³
Committee of the International Grains Council.
Food Aid Contributions to the World Food Program
Most U.S. food aid is provided on a bilateral basis, but a substantial portion is channeled
through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the intergovernmental agency
that provides food aid for development projects and humanitarian relief in low income
countries. More than 56 donors, mainly countries, but also some non-governmental
organizations and private corporations, contribute to the WFP. The United States is the
major donor, providing over the last 12 years around 46% of total WFP contributions
(Figure 2 and Appendix Table 2). Over that same 12-year period, the EU (again
combining European Commission with EU member countries’ contributions) accounted
for around 30% of total WFP contributions. Japan, whose contributions are in cash,
provided around 6%. The remaining donors combined provided about 18% to WFP food
aid resources. Donor contributions to the WFP are not in addition to, but are included in,
the data reported in Figure 1 and Appendix Table 1.
² Data on food aid shipments provided by the International Grains Council are reported on a
marketing year basis (July-June).
³ International Grains Council, Food Aid Committee, Food Aid Shipments 2006/2007: Report
on Shipments by Members of the Food Aid Convention, May 2008, viewed at
[ ht t p: / / www.i gc.or g.uk/ downl oads/ publ i c at i ons/ f as/ f as0607.pdf ] .

Commitments under the Food Aid Convention
The Food Aid Convention (FAC), first agreed to in 1968 during the Kennedy Round
of multilateral trade negotiations held under the auspices of the General Agreements on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), was an international agreement that constituted a framework
of cooperation on food aid
between major donors. TheFigure 2. Food Aid Contributions to the World
food aid commitment underFood Program, 1996-2008
the FAC was a minimum^U^{SA 4}⁶^.²^%
commitment and was in-
tended to be a guarantee of
food security for low-
income developing coun-
tries. The signatories of the
FAC were Argentina, Aus-
tralia, Canada, the European
Union and its member^Japa^{n 6}^.²^%
countries, Japan, Norway,^Ot^h^e^{r 1}⁷^.⁷^%
Switzerland, and the United
States. Signatories could
provide more than their^EU³⁰^.⁰^%
minimum commitment. The
current FAC was negotiated
in 1999 and expired in^*^D^at^a^as^of^M^a^y^4,²⁰⁰⁸^.^S^o^u^r^c^e^:^W^o^r^l^d^F^ood^P^r^ogram^m^e^.

2003.

Under the FAC, the donors could express their annual food aid commitments in
either tonnage or in value, but most continue to use the former. Japan is the major
exception, although the EU also provides some food aid in the form of cash. The total
commitment under the most recent FAC (1999-2003) was 4.9 mmt (see Figure 3 and
Appendix Table 2). The United States made the largest commitment, 2.5 mmt or 51%
of the total. The combined
EU commitmentFigure 3. Food Aid Commitments under the Food
(Commission and memberAid Convention

countries) was around 27%.^E^U²⁷^.0^%
Commitments by Canada,
Japan, and Australia were,
respectively, 8.6%, 6.1%,^C^ana^{da 8.}^6%
and 5.1%. Only two of^Ja^pa^{n 6}^.¹^%
eight FAC signatories^Au^st^r^a^lⁱ^{a 5.}^1%^N^o^r^w^a^y^0.^6%^S^wⁱ^t^zer^l^{and 0.}^8%
(Norway and the United^A^r^geⁿ^tⁱⁿ^a^0.^7%
States) have met or
exceeded their FAC
commitments on average
over the life of the FAC
(1999-2003).
Although the FAC^U^S^A^51.^1%
expired in 2003, a working
committee of the IGC was^S^ourc^e^:^Iⁿ^t^e^rnatⁱ^oⁿ^a^l^G^r^aⁱⁿ^s^C^o^uncⁱ^l^F^ood^Aⁱ^d^C^o^m^mⁱ^t^t^e^e^,^F^o^{od A}ⁱ^d^C^o^nv^en^tⁱ^oⁿ^.

established to prepare for its renegotiation.⁴ The Food Aid Committee of the IGC
continues to meet periodically to review donor food aid contributions in relation to
commitments under the 1999 FAC and to global food needs and has agreed that the
existing FAC should be extended for a further two-year period from July 1, 2005.
Concurrently, trade-related aspects of food aid are being negotiated in the multilateral
trade round known as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Renegotiation of the FAC,
however, appears unlikely until the future of DDA trade negotiations has been
determined. The next meeting of the Food Aid Committee of the IGC is scheduled for
October 2008.
Table 1. Annual Commitments under the Food Aid Convention
(metric tons wheat equivalent)
Average Food
AnnualAid Shipments
Commitment s P ercent 1999-2003 P ercent
Arge ntina 35,000 0.72% 553 0.01%
Australia 250,000 5.11% 235,242 2.42%
Canada 420,000 8.58% 386,859 3.98%
EU 1,320,000 26.97% 2,072,822 21.34%
J a pan 300,000 6.13% 550,945 5.67%
Norway 30,000 0.61% 109,318 1.13%
Switzerland 40,000 0.82% 62,217 0.64%
USA 2,500,000 51.07% 6,294,145 64.81%
T otal 4,895,000 100.00% 9,712,101 100.00%
^Source:^In^tern^ation^a^{l Grain}^s^C^o^uⁿ^c^{il Food A}ⁱ^{d C}^o^m^m^{ittee, T}^h^{e Food A}ⁱ^{d C}^oⁿ^v^eⁿ^tion^.

⁴ IGC-FAC Press Release, 8 December 2004, viewed at [http://www.igc.org.uk/press/
pr041208.htm].

CRS-5
Appendix Table 1. Food Aid by Major Donor, 1995/96-2006/07
(in metric tons wheat equivalent)
^A^nnua^l^A^v^e^r^a^g^e
^Metr^ic
^1995/⁹⁶^1996/⁹⁷^1997/⁹⁸^1998/⁹⁹^1999/⁰⁰^2000/⁰¹^2001/⁰²^2002/⁰³^2003/⁰⁴^2004/⁰⁵^2005/⁰⁶^2006/⁰⁷^T^o^t^a^l^P^ercen^t^Toⁿ^s
ⁿ^a^13,400^10,135^2,740²⁶^26,301^0.03%^2,630
^a^298,146^305,127^293,221^273,064^296,713^251,865^245,828^203,820^177,984^168,083^180,667^114,530^2,809,048^2.79%^280,905
^448,764^468,431^417,917^487,095^470,640^293,477^412,082^499,382^351,168^437,341^448,534^474,⁴³⁸^5,209,269^5.18%^520,927
^2,413,991^2,049,691^2,201,162^1,^969,892^1,970,768^2,357,778^1,836,717^1,980,781^2,218,065^2,151,958^2,853,⁰⁶³^2,488,053^26,491,919^26.33%²^,649,192
^474,870^326,835^302,626^561,643^337,³⁵⁷^637,749^531,755^666,910^580,953^578,261^354,289^318,964^5,672,212^5.64%^567,221
^6,233^32,816^19,306^61,293^75,960^85,876^74,318^144,927^165,510^145,586^196,034^179,⁴⁰⁸^1,187,267^1.18%^118,727
^aⁿ^d^75,479^38,636^57,915^38,939^61,295^54,169^58,⁰⁴²^67,892^69,689^71,854^61,608^71,051^726,569^0.72%^72,657
ⁱ^{ki/CRS-RS21279}²^,849,384^2,553,283^2,818,500^4,734,121^5,^692,116^6,798,280^7,124,407^6,054,¹⁹⁷^5,801,724^5,363,186^4,830,⁷¹⁰^3,869,162^58,489,070^58.13%^5,848,907
^g/w⁶^,580,267^5,774,819^6,110,647^8,136,182^8,907,589^10,479,194^10,283,175^9,^617,909^9,365,093^8,916,269^8,^924,905^7,515,606^100,611,655¹^00.00%^10,061,166
^s^.or
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^In^tern^ation^a^{l Grain}^s^C^o^uⁿ^c^{il Food A}ⁱ^{d C}^o^m^m^ittee,^{Food Ai}^{d Shi}^pm^ent^s^,^va^rⁱ^o^u^{s issue}^s^.

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Appendix Table 2. Food Aid Contributions to the World Food Program, 1996-2008
(thousand dollars)
^As^o^f
^May^4,
¹⁹⁹⁶¹⁹⁹⁷¹⁹⁹⁸¹⁹⁹⁹²⁰⁰⁰²⁰⁰¹²⁰⁰²²⁰⁰³²⁰⁰⁴²⁰⁰⁵²⁰⁰⁶²⁰⁰⁷²⁰⁰⁸^T^o^t^a^l
^of
^c^a^494,980^408,380^876,284^718,856^795,⁶⁷⁶^1,210,543^933,217^1,459,324^1,044,168^1,^174,918^1,123,113^1,183,068^362,728^11,785,255
^Uⁿⁱ^oⁿ^603,981^550,522^522,397^461,800^442,495^436,⁵⁵⁹^560,653^620,929^692,984^876,111^747,096^763,064^373,331^7,651,922
^o^m^mⁱ^s^sⁱ^on^196,873^237,254^184,645^168,098^117,509^118,⁴¹¹^179,205^201,463^200,501^263,940^265,762^250,437^32,451^2,416,548
^o^uⁿ^t^ri^es^407,108^313,269^337,752^293,702^324,986^318,¹⁴⁹^381,448^419,466^492,483^612,171^481,334^512,627^340,880^5,235,374
^s^t^ri^a⁴^,774^4,910^3,853^3,710^2,854^1,¹¹⁷^3,302^2,199^2,189^4,344^1,839^3,776^3,414^42,281
^gⁱ^u^m^19,472^17,416^16,908^10,782^6,284^5,²⁹⁴^5,748^8,480^10,750^13,952^11,132^17,644¹⁵^143,876
^pru^s⁵⁴⁰⁰⁶⁵⁶^1,061
^R^e^pu^blic⁹⁸^1,236³⁰⁸⁵⁶¹⁵⁷^2,260
ⁿ^m^ark^53,064^44,248^43,384^46,900^41,908^39,³⁸⁵^39,964^39,335^43,247^52,838^43,817^44,339^50,480^582,909
ⁱ^{ki/CRS-RS21279}^l^an^d^16,045^13,768^13,801^15,345^15,219^14,⁴⁶⁷^17,445^17,793^17,860^23,557^18,319^25,403^18,736^227,758^ce^19,203^21,884^24,742^27,693^26,170^35,929^14,457^14,939^30,288^37,676^25,689^33,762^9,140^321,572
^g/w
^s^.or^rm^an^y^96,036^68,487^61,779^53,089^46,750^58,⁰⁸⁸^60,920^46,458^65,126^70,721^59,621^65,680^28,456^781,211
^le^ak¹⁵⁰¹⁷⁰²⁵¹¹³⁰²⁰⁰¹⁶^3,637^4,201^5,081^3,214^16,825
^://wiki^r^y⁶⁵¹²⁰⁶⁵⁶⁵³¹⁵^an^d³^,149^4,284^4,378^5,021^7,639^7,³¹⁷^10,390^11,815^13,684^19,708^31,005^34,244^9,187^161,819
^h^ttp^y^34,876^9,112^10,632^20,817^19,936^36,060^38,016^40,480^47,613^47,908^12,321^31,268^41,544^390,584
^huaⁿⁱ^a¹¹²³⁰⁶⁴¹⁸
^e^m^bou^rg²¹⁸²⁷⁰¹³⁰^1,205^1,735^2,⁹¹⁹^3,913^5,413^10,681^15,387^11,951^11,338^65,160
^t^h^erl^aⁿ^d^s^78,804^45,972^45,532^55,003^62,801^59,481^58,795^50,422^77,738^115,³⁴⁸^79,985^75,630^54,232^859,743
^d³⁵⁶²⁰⁰^1,200⁷⁵⁵^2,511
^ak^ia²⁵³⁰⁴⁸⁴⁴¹⁴⁷
^en^ia³³⁹⁷¹⁰⁷⁴⁷²⁸⁴
ⁿ^13,720^12,245^2,725^2,511^3,256^3,946^2,607^5,357^17,553^11,595^16,993^29,641^13,716^135,865
^eden^33,164^35,985^29,511^28,415^30,778^27,711^31,167^42,341^44,540^84,259^58,520^64,863^61,290^572,545
ⁱ^t^e^{d K}ⁱⁿ^g^dom^34,434^34,789^80,212^24,284^60,056^27,620^95,718^135,734^115,884^114,²⁶⁴^100,372^66,851^36,014^926,231
^124,032^98,991^123,757^106,438^260,099^91,139^92,896^129,938^135,730^160,⁵²⁸^71,190^118,710^69,653^1,583,101
^t^h^e^rs^222,166^253,647^204,811^268,274^252,853^165,999^222,338^362,983^342,017^515,410^762,⁴⁶⁷^647,917^294,903^4,515,785
^A^L¹^,445,159^1,311,540^1,727,248^1,555,369^1,751,123^1,904,241^1,809,104^2,^573,174^2,214,899^2,726,967^2,703,⁸⁶⁶^2,712,759^1,100,615^25,53^6,063
^W^o^{rld Food P}^r^og^ram^.^{Data av}^{ailable at [h}^ttp://^www.^wf^p^.^o^r^g^]^.