News food import
FAO warns of record import costs
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warns that the global cost of food imports will rise sharply this year. Import costs are expected to rise to a new record this year.
Global food import costs are expected to reach $1,715 trillion this year, the FAO said in its recent June 10 issue of the Food Outlook report. Last year the cost was $1,530 trillion. The increase is a result of rising raw material prices and strong demand during the corona crisis.
The FAO's monthly food price index already reached a 10-year high in May. This is due to strong price increases of grains, vegetable oils and sugar. The organization says its individual index of food import values, including freight costs, has also surged, reaching a new record high in March this year.
Chinese corn import
This surpassed previous peak moments in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. These high costs could last for a long time, as almost all agricultural commodities have become more expensive, according to the FAO, while a rise in energy markets has increased farmers' production costs.
Chinese imports have been a driver of higher demand and prices over the past year. The rebuilding of the pig herd, after it was severely depleted by the African swine fever, was a major driver of higher demand. The FAO forecasts that Chinese maize imports will rise to 24 million tons in the coming season. This makes China the world's largest importer.
Vulnerable countries
According to Josef Schmidhuber, deputy director of the FAO's trade and markets department, the problem is not rising prices, but vulnerable countries. “While agricultural trade growth during the pandemic has demonstrated the resilience of international markets, price increases since late 2020 are increasing risks for some import-dependent states”
Countries classified by the FAO as low-income countries are expected to see the cost of food imports rise by 20% this year. International aid agencies have already warned of an increasing number of malnourished people in the world as the pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity linked to conflict and poverty in states like Yemen and Nigeria.
Chanti Oussoren
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