The economic impact of the agri-food sector in Southeast Asia

A comprehensive study of the economic impact of Southeast Asia’s Agri-food sector in 2019, with deeper analysis into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy challenges faced by the sector in the years ahead. In 2019, the agri-food sector supported over 40% of jobs in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines; as well as 28% of total tax revenues across the four countries. Across the Southeast Asian region, the agri-food sector has always played a critical role in supporting the livelihoods of people: from putting food on millions of tables, to supporting local governments via tax revenues. The sector demonstrated its resilience in 2020, despite the effects of COVID-19 on travel, trade, and business operations. However, the agri-food sector faces more challenges in the years ahead, including risks to food supply and demand, and the spectre of new public spending and taxation policies in the post-COVID recovery.