The wheat export ban in Serbia: Are export restrictions an effective instrument to dampen food price inflation?

Many countries restricted their exports to world agricultural markets during the most recent price peaks in order to insulate their domestic agricultural prices from price developments in international markets. Their ultimate aim was countering the rise in food price inflation and protecting consumers from high food expenses. This Policy Brief reviews the repeated export bans on wheat in Serbia and their impacts on domestic price developments for wheat, flour and bread and attempts to clarify whether end consumers or players along the added-value chain actually profited from political market interventions.