Because of rapid economic development and continued population growth in rising economies like mainland China and India, global demand for food has risen sharply. In addition, as many countries have implemented policies to promote the use of biomass energy to replace petrochemical energy, there has been even more upward pressure put on demand for crops, such as corn, that are suitable for biomass energy. On the other hand, in terms of food supply, production has fallen as a result of the impact of global warming and unusual climatic conditions in major grain exporting countries. As a result, prices of staple foods rose in 2011, and the issue of food security, already on the agenda in 2010, has been getting ever-greater attention. The COA has responded by proposing the creation of an APEC food emergency response mechanism, which would guarantee regional food security through cooperation among the economies that make up the APEC forum.

Meanwhile, as there has been no progress for over a decade in the Doha Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization, in recent years there has been a trend toward the signing of bilateral or regional free trade agreements (FTAs). In the Asia-Pacific region in particular, various member economies of APEC have been actively promoting “Trans Pacific Partnership” (TPP) agreements and “ASEAN+3” has taken shape, bringing the region further toward the realization of a “Free Trade Area Asia Pacific” (FTAAP). All countries, including Taiwan, must face up to the challenge of how to sustainably develop agriculture in the context of growing trade and economic liberalization.