•Report by Halimah Olamide
A recent report published by the World Bank has revealed that Ghana, Rwanda and Zimbabwe are African countries among the ten most affected by domestic food price inflation.
The report said high food inflation remains high around the world.
According to the report, the information between July to October 2022 shows high inflation in almost all low-income and middle-income countries; 84.2% of low-income countries, 93% of lower-middle-income countries, and 93% of upper-middle-income countries have seen inflation levels above 5%, with many experiencing double-digit inflation.
Other countries listed as hardest hit are Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Venezuela, and Argentina.
However, the share of high-income countries with high food price inflation has reportedly risen to 85.5%, with agricultural, cereal and export price indices closing lower than it’s last update in November, 9.
“The agricultural, cereal, and export price indices closed lower than when the last update was issued on November 9.
“The agricultural and cereal indices were 2% lower, and the export index was 3% lower. Wheat prices continued their downward trend, declining 8% over the same period.
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“Maize and rice prices closed at the same level. Average wheat prices for November were 1% higher year-on-year, maize prices 17% higher, and rice prices 9% higher.
“Maize prices were 29% higher than in January 2021, wheat prices 15% higher, and rice prices 14% lower.”
The report further stated Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia, as the most affected countries
“The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.”
The report said in part, “On November 17, Ukraine and the United Nations announced, that the Black Sea Grain Initiative which had been set to expire on November 19, 2022, would be extended for 120 days.
“Although the protected corridor has enabled partial recovery of grain shipments from Ukraine, grain exports remain well below pre-war levels.
The FAO Food Outlook, released on November 11, estimated that the world food import bill will rise to $1.94 trillion in 2022, higher than previously expected.
This marks a record high and is a 10% increase over the record level of 2021. The pace of the increase is expected to slow in the coming months in response to higher world food prices and depreciating currencies against the U.S. dollar, which would reduce importing countries’ purchasing power and consequently decrease volumes of imported food.
Higher world food prices are the primary cause of the increase in the global food import bill, which high-income countries primarily account for.
Although high-income countries are footing most of the global import bill, higher prices affect economically vulnerable country groups more.