Order Code RS21279
Updated May 29, 2008
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/].

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(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
EU 26.3%
2006/2007. U.S. contribu-
Japan 5.6%
tions have averaged 5.8
mmt annually. Food aid
Canada 5.2%
from the European Union
(including food aid provided
Australia 2.8%
by the European Commis-
Other 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
USA 58.1%
shipments. Japan and
Canada provided 6% and
5%, respectively, of the total
Source: Food Aid Shipments 2006/07, International Grains Council Food Aid Committee.
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 Aid
Committee of the International Grains Council.3
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
[http://www.igc.org.uk/downloads/publications/fas/fas0607.pdf].

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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. The
Figure 2. Food Aid Contributions to the World
food aid commitment under
Food Program, 1996-2008
the FAC was a minimum
commitment and was in-
USA 46.2%
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
Japan 6.2%
countries, Japan, Norway,
Other 17.7%
Switzerland, and the United
States. Signatories could
provide more than their
EU 30.0%
minimum commitment. The
current FAC was negotiated
in 1999 and expired in *Data as of May 4, 2008.
Source: World Food Programme.
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
E U c o m m i t m e n t Figure 3. Food Aid Commitments under the Food
(Commission and member
Aid Convention
countries) was around 27%.
Commitments by Canada,
EU 27.0%
Japan, and Australia were,
respectively, 8.6%, 6.1%,
Canada 8.6%
and 5.1%. Only two of
Japan 6.1%
eight FAC signatories
Norway 0.6%
Australia 5.1%
(Norway and the United Switzerland 0.8%
Argentina 0.7%
States) have met or
ex ceeded t hei r F AC
commitments on average
over the life of the FAC
(1999-2003).
Although the FAC
USA 51.1%
expired in 2003, a working
committee of the IGC was Source: International Grains Council Food Aid Committee, Food Aid Convention.

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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
Annual
Aid Shipments
Commitments
Percent
1999-2003
Percent
Argentina
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%
Japan
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%
Total
4,895,000
100.00%
9,712,101
100.00%
Source: International Grains Council Food Aid Committee, The Food Aid Convention.
4 IGC-FAC Press Release, 8 December 2004, viewed at [http://www.igc.org.uk/press/
pr041208.htm].

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Appendix Table 1. Food Aid by Major Donor, 1995/96-2006/07
(in metric tons wheat equivalent)
Annual Average
Metric
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
Total
Percent
Tons
Argentina
13,400
10,135
2,740
26
26,301
0.03%
2,630
Australia
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
Canada
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
EU
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
Japan
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
Norway
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
Switzerland
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
USA
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
Total
6,580,267 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 7,515,606 100,611,655 100.00% 10,061,166
Source: International Grains Council Food Aid Committee, Food Aid Shipments, various issues.

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Appendix Table 2. Food Aid Contributions to the World Food Program, 1996-2008
(thousand dollars)
As of
May 4,
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Total
United States of
America
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
European Union
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
EU Commission
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
EU Countries
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
Austria
4,774
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
Belgium
19,472
17,416
16,908
10,782
6,284
5,294
5,748
8,480
10,750
13,952
11,132
17,644
15
143,876
Cyprus
5
400
656
1,061
Czech Republic
98
1,236
308
561
57
2,260
Denmark
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
Finland
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
France
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
Germany
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
Greece
150
170
25
1
130
200
16
3,637
4,201
5,081
3,214
16,825
Hungary
65
120
65
65
315
Ireland
3,149
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
Italy
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
Lithuania
112
306
418
Luxembourg
218
270
130
1,205
1,735
2,919
3,913
5,413
10,681
15,387
11,951
11,338
65,160
Netherlands
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
Poland
356
200
1,200
755
2,511
Slovakia
25
30
48
44
147
Slovenia
33
97
107
47
284
Spain
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
Sweden
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
United Kingdom
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
Japan
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
All Others
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
TOTAL
1,445,159
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 25,536,063
Source: World Food Program. Data available at [http://www.wfp.org].