The authors analyze the relationship between food security and trade, focusing on food importers’ exposure to sudden market failures from relying on a narrow range of international suppliers. They compute a bilateral import penetration index (BIPI), which gauges the degree to which a country depends on another for food imports.

Infrastructure is shown to be a cost-effective means of lowering trade costs and thereby promoting regional growth and integration. This report combines thematic and country studies, while breaking new ground in quantifying infrastructure's impact on Asia's trade costs.