Agricultural Grain Markets in the COVID-19 Crisis, Insights from a GVAR Model

The objective of this paper is to combine cross-commodity and spatial price transmission analysis to study the dynamics of the global cereal feed market during the COVID-19 pandemic. After reviewing the nascent literature on the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural markets, we discuss the different impact channels on prices. Then, we provide stylized market reactions of three relevant feed markets, wheat, barley, and maize, to a set of simulated possible future shocks on oil prices, stock-to-use ratios, and export restrictions. These three shocks are useful to assess what could be the consequences of policy responses to COVID-19 (export restrictions) or the disruptions due to the virus (stock-to-use reductions), in a context of lower oil prices. To generate these market reactions, we use a Global Vector Auto Regression (GVAR) model where each market is modelled independently, and connected through trade-based composite variables. We expand the work on the global wheat market by introducing maize and barley. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the fall in the oil price may have contributed to the stability of the world grain market in early 2020, despite fears of supply chain disruption. We also note that export restrictions could significantly increase global prices, and that such restrictions could affect more than the targeted commodity, through significant cross-commodity price linkages.