Analysis of Trade-offs between Food Security and Water-Land Savings through Food Trade and Structural Changes of Virtual Water Trade in the Arab World

Abstract. The aim of this study is to analyze the impacts of food trade on food security and water-land savings in the Arab World in terms of virtual water trade (VWT). We estimated the total volume of virtual water imported for four major crops – barley, maize, rice, and wheat – from 2000 to 2012, and assessed their impacts on water and land savings, and food security. The largest volume of virtual water was imported by Egypt (19.9 billion m³/year), followed by Saudi Arabia (13.0 billion m³/year). Accordingly, Egypt would save 13.1 billion m³ in irrigation water and 2.1 million ha of crop area through importing crops. In addition, connectivity and influence of each country in the VWT network was analyzed using degree and eigenvector centralities. The study revealed that the Arab World focused more on increasing the volume of virtual water imported during the period 2006–2012 with little attention to the expansion of connections with country exporters, which is a vulnerable expansion. This study shed light on opportunities and risks associated with VWT and its role in food security and land management in the Arab World.