Food Prices

The Yemen conflict, underway since early 2015, has led to an ongoing, unprecedented humanitarian emergency. Food needs far exceed current consumption levels, with 3.5 million pregnant or breastfeeding women and children under 5 suffering from acute malnutrition and up to 19 million people affected by food insecurity in 2022.

The sanctions imposed by the European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries on Russia and Belarus following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine included restrictions on banking, trade, technology transfers, and specific individuals. These came on top of earlier sanctions on both countries – on Russia, in response to its 2014 annexation of Crimea, and on Belarus, in response to human rights violations in 2020 and its forced grounding of Ryanair flight 4798 to seize a dissident journalist in 2021.

The October FAO Food Price Index remained largely unchanged from September, with rising cereal prices balanced by declines in the other commodity groups. The overall Food Price Index has fallen by almost 15 percent from March 2022 but remains 2 percent above its October 2021 levels.

Russia’s October 29 announcement that it was suspending its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative—which allows shipments out of Ukrainian ports—was not a surprise; Russia had been skeptical of the deal since the start. But now the supply disruptions will begin again: the move will have a negative impact on Ukraine, its customers, on world market prices—and global food security, particularly for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The latest FAO Food Price Index reports that global food prices fell by 1.5 percent in September. However, the Index remains 5.5 higher than its September 2021 level. The decline from August was driven by significant drops in vegetable oil prices and more moderate drops in sugar, meat, and dairy products; cereal prices rose in September.