“We must all work together to prevent such a scenario,” he said in a media release on Tuesday.
Two successive global crises, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have along with other ongoing conflicts around the world produced a serious food access crisis, with the FAO Food Price Index showing rising prices for internationally traded food commodities, he said.
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Declining stocks for some commodities, higher energy and fertilizer costs, poor weather conditions in several key producing countries, uncertainties related to trade policies, and risks associated with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine are all causes for concern, the Director-General said.
“Domestic food price inflation is of particular concern, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable who spend a higher share of their incomes on food,” he added, noting that most countries are experiencing retail food prices increases of between 10 percent and 30 percent on an annualized basis.
The weakening of many national currencies against the United States (US) dollar is also contributing to increased food import bills, such that the 62 most vulnerable food-deficit countries “are buying less food, but paying higher bills,” Qu said.
The main drivers of food crises – amongst which he included inadequate investment in agrifood systems – are expected to persist in 2023, when the high cost of energy inputs, production and trade may lead farmers to “produce less, export less and earn less,” triggering a food availability crisis, the Director-General warned.
He called on ministers to focus on supporting food access for all poor and vulnerable countries and populations, expanding social protection programmes and humanitarian assistance, committing to an open, predictable and well-functioning global market and trading system. Finance Ministers should maintain close dialogue with the Agriculture Ministers of the G20 members, he added.
(WAH)
