Food import costs rise to record in 2022, threatening world’s poorest – FAO

Food imports costs across the world are on course to hit a near $2 trillion record in 2022, piling pressure on the globe’s poorest countries who likely shipped in considerably less volumes of food, the U.N. Food Agency said on November 11.

World food prices soared to record levels in March after Russia invaded Ukraine, a key grains and oilseeds producer, and while they have since retreated somewhat, they remain above last year’s lofty levels.

The increase is disproportionately affecting economically vulnerable countries, and is expected to continue doing so next year even as the overall agricultural supply situation is set to improve a bit.

“These are alarming signs from a food security perspective,” the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its twice-yearly Food Outlook report.

The world’s food import bill is projected to reach $1.94 trillion this year, up 10% year-on-year and higher than previously expected, the FAO said.

In terms of agricultural inputs like fertilisers, which require a lot of energy to produce, the FAO said global import costs are set to rise nearly 50% this year to $424 billion, forcing some countries to buy and use less.

This will inevitably lead to lower productivity, lower domestic food availability and “negative repercussions for global agricultural output and food security” in 2023, it said.

Source: Reuters

To read the full original article, please go to: https://www.reuters.com/article/food-security-fao-idAFKBN2S10QB

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