PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - Steps taken by major emerging economies to counter food price volatility and spur farm development have in many cases undermined international trade, the OECD said on Tuesday.
In a report on farm policy in seven emerging countries -- Brazil, Chile, China, India, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine -- the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said common measures in recent years have included export restrictions and guaranteed prices for producers.
"While potentially increasing the supply of specific products to the domestic market, export barriers reduce supply on the world market, placing further upward pressure on prices in importing countries," the OECD said.
There has been little pressure on countries to change trade-distorting policies because of the failure to reach a deal in the Doha round of talks at the World Trade Organisation, it said.
The onset of a global financial crisis and economic downturn in the second half of 2008 may increase the tendency towards protectionism in farm policy and hurt production by reducing foreign investment and access to credit, the OECD predicted.
It warned governments against undermining credit systems through debt rescheduling and write-offs for producers, while recognising that the global crisis has made it more difficult to obtain private credit.
Government support for the farm sector varies widely between emerging economies but remains well below levels in the industrialised countries of the OECD.
Public aid as a share of gross farm income ranged from 4 to 14 percent in 2005/07 in the emerging countries studied, versus an average 26 percent for OECD members, the organisation said.
However, emerging economies tend to concentrate support on certain crops, leading to exessive investment in some areas, the OECD said.
The organisation welcomed an increase in spending on infrastructure and research and development, urging the countries to raise efficiency in the delivery of this support. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz, editing by Anthony Barker)