Burkina Faso: government bans flour exports, calls for 'economic patriotism'
Burkina Faso's government has banned exports of millet, maize and sorghum flours and their derivatives until further notice, and suspended special export authorisations for those products. The minister of commerce, Serge Poda, says the aim is to guarantee availability of the products in the country and make them more accessible to consumers, with sanctions for offenders. An emergency plan for the agricultural campaign provides for 750 boreholes at subsidised prices, after a campaign marked by unsatisfactory rainfall and pockets of drought.
Why it matters: The ban places food security at the centre of the briefing's trade-policy coverage, as a Sahelian government restricts exports to protect domestic supply.