What's New

The latest Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Outlook, released on November 11, 2022, sees continued challenges for global food security due to high energy and fertilizer costs, climate change, trade restrictions, economic downturns, and continuing conflicts around the world.

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.

The FAO Food Price Index hit a record high in February, exceeding the previous record of February 2011. The index rose 3.9 percent from January and 20.7 percent from February 2021. Vegetable oil, dairy, cereal, and meat price increases all contributed to the continued surge.

Increasing urbanization plays a major role in shifting patterns of food supply and demand and thus in transforming food systems. These transformations carry significant implications for the livelihoods of rural populations, presenting both challenges and opportunities. A new paper published in Food Security examines some of these impacts in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) and South Asia, as well as the enabling environments needed to help rural communities benefit from the changes.

The FAO Food Price Index continued its 11-month climb in April, rising by 1.7 percent from March 2021. The Index also surged 30.8 percent above its April 2020 levels to reach its highest level seen since May 2014.