Export restriction  Export restrictions, or a restriction on exportation, are limitations on the quantity of goods exported to a specific country or countries by a Government. Export restrictions could be aimed at achieving diverse policy objectives such as environmental protection, economic welfare, social wellbeing, conversion of natural resources, and controlling inflationary pressures. There are various forms of restrictions on export as defined by WTO’s Trade Policy Reviews (TPR), for example, export duties, quantitative restrictions, voluntary export restrictions, export prohibitions and licensing requirements. Although some countries apply export restriction of various policy purposes, restrictions on exports provide price advantage for the domestic industries because these restrictions create price difference between domestic goods compared to the price of the same goods to foreign investors. Export restrictions don’t always provide benefits for the country and more income for the government. In the field of agriculture and food sector export restrictions are aimed at protecting the domestic food security from international supply. During the food crises of 2007-2008, more than thirty countries imposed various export restriction measures such as quantitative export restrictions, prohibitions, export taxes, and price controls to protect the domestic food supply. However, this created additional pressures on the food crises by imposing high global prices and affecting the supply of food in the international market. Within Environmental protection sector, export restrictions could cause market failure. For example, if a country puts export restriction on exporting minerals, natural resources, or wood stuff, it could cause market distortion that could also affect the distribution of welfare. Due to this, other countries might enter trade division and pause strict export restrictions on their domestic products which eventually constrains the objective of export restrictions that are supposed to provide positive objectives for the imposing country. . The economic impact of export restrictions  The economic impact of the export restrictions depends on the size of the exporter. There are two types of exporters: small exporter (small country), and large exporter (large country). For a small exporter, export restrictions do not affect world market price but rather the domestic price. When there are restrictions on exported goods, the price of exported goods rise, therefore, export decreases and domestic good prices fall. This market failure is beneficial for consumers and is a disadvantage for producers. On the other hand, large exporter has the advantage of affecting the world price. When market prices rise due to export restrictions, the exporter gains from this high price of the goods it exports. Welfare impact of export restrictions Restriction in export causes welfare loss in the national and international levels but the impact of these restrictions differs according to the elasticity of demand and supply of the exported goods and the kind of export restriction measures applied.